My father was an avid fisherman, taking the family to Maine each summer to go bass fishing and Nags Head, North Carolina during Spring Break to catch blues coming up the Atlantic coastline. Sure, golf was always on the agenda, but his quest was trying to catch the big one. Now retired and residing on a golf course with several lakes, my own children enjoy nightly excursions to catch bass, perch and sunfish. While success usually followed his line, I often wonder about the big one that got away.
Three years ago, there was a 10 pound bass spotted periodically along a canal. Many had seen it, but no one was successful in reeling this behometh on to dry land. Over a 3 day weekend, my oldest son James and I appeared to have something large bite our lines, only to have the line snap shortly thereafter. As I was reeling in a small sunny, I felt a tug, like a snapping turtle had grabbed ahold of my line. For roughly 10 minutes I battled this unseen creature, hoping it was the beast. However, just as I was sensing victory, the line went dead. One minute later, the only thing remaining was an empty hook. Since there were no visible signs of a turtle, whatever attacked my rod must have ripped the sunny off the hook, swallowing it’s victim whole. I’ve caught my fair share of fish, but I regret the 10 pounder that got away.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYWRsx6OUn8
In athletics, Olympians’ shake their head over the gold that slipped from their reach. Meanwhile, the scholar will analyze why an elite college or graduate school passed over their application. The student ponders what went wrong to lose their high school sweetheart and the unemployed struggle to find the explanation behind why they did not receive a job offer. Disappointment is a subtle reminder of an imperfect world, filled with empty promises and broken dreams. Despite how painfully it is to start over in life, you need to let go of the one that got away, learning from this loss so that it doesn’t happen again. May the truth of James 1:2-4 strengthen you to press on, to stay beat and hopeful of a date with destiny to celebrate the day the big One didn’t get away!
by Jay Mankus
ExpressYourself4Him 