Reel 'em In!

Today is St. Patrick's Day.  Our family has always longed to go to Ireland.  My husband's Scots-Irish blood demands that we make a visit sooner or later.  My visions of Ireland are of fishermen in cableknit sweaters whistling while they work -- (do you remember the Irish Springs commercials of long ago?).  The closest I have gotten, though, is Scotland.  One summer we decided to swap houses with friends of ours who live in Bathgate.  We had the most wonderful time!  It was beautiful! ....cold and rainy for a July but really quite breath-taking.  I was amazed at the lush green hills and valleys capped by ethereal fogs that frequently rolled in.  We drove all over the place and tasted local foods at every restaurant, pub and street fair that we could attend.  One of our favorite dishes by far was Cullen Skink.

Cullen Skink is a stew made with smoked Finnan haddie, potatoes and onions.  It was so delicious!  It hit the spot when we were cold.  I never would have imagined that I could love a smoked fish so much.  In fact, I don't recall having much smoked fish in the deep South USA.  I have had smoked salmon brought in from  Alaska, but that's entirely different.  Sometime last year, Wayne and I made our way down to the Florida Keys and had a smoked fish dip that made my taste buds happy.  I have searched the recipe and will soon attempt a batch of my own.  If you think that fish is fish, you haven't tasted the many ways it can be prepared!  Not all fish are the same!

All day today, my son attempted to fish in a little pond near our house.  His attempts brought up a few brim and a passel of turtles!  The gentleman who is staying next door has chuckled over the past 2 days while he says in his Canadian accent, "You gotta count to one and a half and then set the hook, eh?"  Fishing just comes more naturally to some.  I, myself, am not a fisherman.  It takes some effort on my part to sit still and stare at the water.  I'd much rather be walking along, doing my own thing.  And while I am no good at catching actual fish, I hope to become very good at fishing, nonetheless.

In Matthew 4:19 , it says, "'Come, follow me,' Jesus said, 'and I will make you fishers of men.'"  I like the idea that we can cast the word of our testimonies and reel in souls for the Kingdom of God.  When we watch fishing shows on TV, we see that the fish that are caught come in all shapes, sizes, colors.  But I love the most when we can see a ship haul in great nets teaming with huge catches.  It's amazing to see the fish spill into the boat.  It's overwhelming that time after time we can bring in huge catches...only to discover that we can't exhaust the wealth of fish still in the sea.  There will always be more fish.  Our job will never be done.

St. Patrick must have had great visions of the fish to be caught in Ireland!  He was taken as a slave into that country and then later rescued.  He studied hard to know the Word of God and then begged to go back to the Irish people to lead them to the Lord.  I'm grateful for the men and women who have gone before us into the difficult places, introducing the Lord into various cultures.  There is still much to be done in the world, but the way has been paved by the pioneers of our faith.  I hope to make a dent somewhere...to catch more fish. 

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
(Traditional Gaelic Blessing)