Not All Fishing Nets Look Alike

by Darla Noble

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep, and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered him, “Master, we worked all night, and took nothing; but at your word I will let down the net.” When they had done this, they caught a great multitude of fish, and their net was breaking.

Luke 5:4-6

There was a time in our life when finances were tight…very tight. As in, we usually spent the last week to ten days of each month with less than five dollars in our bank account. And for a family of six, that’s a scary thing. What if one of the kids got hurt or sick and we needed to pay our co-pay, but couldn’t? What if they came home with a permission slip from school that required money for a field trip…and I didn’t have it?

I admit I spent more time than I should have worrying about our lack of finances. And I spend more time than I should have feeling sorry for myself and my family. I even spent a bit of time wondering why God didn’t love us enough to give us more.

And then I realized just how much I actually had. My children were healthy. My marriage was strong. Our family was blessed with a wonderful church family. We had a roof over our head, food on the table we had grown for such times as these, and never… not ever did God not let whatever amount we had be enough to get us through. So while I never had an actual fishing net to put into the water, I was given the privilege (and I mean that) of seeing God’s miraculous provision time and time again in our lives and I praise God for it!