Reeling In the Big One

Every fisherman has the story of “the big one that got away.” Right? I can hardly call myself a fisherman (fisherwoman?), but I do remember one summer that I tried it. My family was vacationing on the Puget Sound in Washington state and I was standing on a marina with my dad and brother. I remember being jealous of my big brother’s real fishing pole. I can’t remember what I had. Something that was rigged up special for my young hands, I’m sure. It worked fine. I pulled in several small unidentifiable fish that were admired and then set free. But after much begging and pleading, my brother let me try his fishing rod. We baited it and I let the line all the way out — fascinated by the clicking sound of the reel.

After a few minutes, the tip of the rod bent over nearly in half. I shrieked and my dad and brother grabbed onto the rod.

“No! I want to reel in my fish!” I shouted.

“You gonna drop my rod!” my brother protested.

My dad spoke up. “It’s going to break the rod, honey, we’d better cut the line. You’re snagged on something. It’s not a fish.”

After much tears and pleading from me, my dad and brother began reeling in my prize. I watched in glorious anticipation. “This must be the biggest fish EVER!” The tip of the rod bowed down to the water in protest of the massive weight.

They reeled and reeled, lifting the heavy object up through the water. “It’s not a fish,” my dad warned. “It’s some piece of garbage or something.”

As it broke through the surface, I remember my delight turning to revulsion. It was a slimy mass of grayish suction cups wrapped around the line. “Ewwww! What IS that thing?” It looked like something from a horror movie.

My brother’s tone had changed completely. “It’s an octopus! You caught an octopus! How cool!”

They hoisted the squirming upside-down creature about a foot from the surface of the water. I wonder now what my dad thought at the time. “What are we going to do with this thing now?”

The next thing we knew — SPLASH — the octopus dropped from the line and descended back into the briny deep where it belonged. The hook and line were intact, the bait was gone. I was disappointed. I may have hooked an octopus, but I didn’t get to take him home to live in the bathtub.

I almost wonder if God was having fun watching us that day. I can imagine Him smiling as I pestered my brother about his fishing rod. “You think that’s special? I’ll show you something really amazing. Have a look at one of my masterpieces.” I think He’s always waiting to surprise us. We think we know what to expect and it’s something good. Then He shows up with something that blows our expectations out of the water. A tiny fish would have been good. A big fish would have been great. An octopus was spectacular and created a memory that I will NEVER forget.

Remember when you dream… God might just being waiting to surprise you with something you never even considered. Just reel it in.