Luke 5:1-11 -"The Call of Simon the Fisherman" This is the Gospel that Paul and I chose to be read at our wedding, and one that I periodically revisit in prayer from time to time. I came back to this Scripture recently, and was surprised to find the Holy Spirit illuminating a particular moment in a way that I had never thought of before:
After casting into deep water and being astonished at the catch of fish so numerous that it was in danger of sinking the boat...they left everything to follow Him. Perhaps it is because I have been so scrupulous with our budget lately, trying to stretch every dollar and dry good in our cupboards, that my first reaction to this event was, "what a waste!"
Why would Jesus, along with Simon and the other fishermen, just turn around and leave all of those fish? Think of all of the money that those fish were worth. Think of all of the people that could have been fed.
It also led me to think of the woman who anointed Jesus with the costly alabaster oil and caused scandal because of such waste (Matt 26:6-13). Then came another thought: Maybe sometimes God gives us certain gifts just to be wasted on Him.
I had great plans for this summer. Plans to organize the house, exercise, cook more vegetables, teach my son to walk and experience the Midwest in all of its summertime glory... but my plans weren't great enough. God had a greater plan. He is giving me the gift of time. Time is the one thing that all mothers dream of having more of. Time is to mothers what fish was to Simon. Now that I am on bedrest, I am astonished at the amount of time I have. And all of those plans that I had dreamt of accomplishing once I had time, well, now I have time... But God is calling me to waste it on him.
So, for the next 63 days, I am leaving everything behind to follow Him.
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