Daily Devotion:

Title: Fishless

Date: January 29, 2013

A bass broke the water’s surface, leaping to eat a fly, and then splashed down again. It is a small pond to have a big bass, but the previous owner, a state warden, had dug the pond deep, and he stocked it with fish he confiscated from unlicensed fishermen. 

Winter froze the pond one year, isolating the bass into one spot, restricting their movement, their food, and their air. After ice-out that spring, all of our bass floated one-side up on the water's surface. Within days, the herring gulls had cleaned the floating fish from the pond. Lacking bass to eat springtime mosquito larvae, our pond’s balanced micro-ecosystem lurched toward instability. We needed new fish. A yard sale purchase of a minnow trap subsequently set with a slice of bread in a larger nearby pond, provided minnows to help restore the balance.

When we experience loss in our lives, nothing fully, or easily, replaces whatever, or whoever is missing or lost. We cannot simply fish in another pond, make a catch, bring it home, and feel satisfied. Loss leaves holes in our hearts, and holes in our lives. How can we cope?  

When we grieve, and when we mourn, time alone may re-create a semblance of stability and wholeness, but faith in God and time, together, can revitalize hope. 

Let's Pray: Dear God, when we grieve and feel lost, empty and alone, strengthen our faith in You, and help us lean upon You, even when we do not understand why, and even when we are angry at You. Amen.

Here’s a Thought: With faith in God we can face our loss.