Fishing Trips

Since moving back to Kampar, the kids & I have taken on a new hobby – fishing! On our very first trip, we went to a nearby lake to try our luck. As soon as we got out of the car, we overheard a seasoned angler saying the fishes weren’t interested in food that day. He was there for the entire afternoon and he had only managed to catch 2 puny fishes. Though deterred but unwilling to disappoint the kids, we decided to throw in our share of baits. Within 2 minutes, Clarissa said that she had caught something! Being a typical skeptic, I said “It’s the wind that is pulling your nylon string!” “No mummy, help me!” she shouted! And to my greatest amazement, she had in fact managed to catch a fish twice the size of my palms! We put up a struggle and finally managed to retrieve our prize! There were many envious onlookers nearby, stood amazed at a little girl who managed to break their record of the day within minutes!

On another occasion, we went with a team of seasoned anglers at a farm in Bidor. This time, we were aiming to catch Red Tilapia, Black Tilapia and Ikan Harun. These anglers came prepared, with professional fishing rods and baits (being cricket and small toads!). There were a total of 6 kids and 8 adults. Guessed who caught more fish? It’s the kids! Clarissa and her cousins were so immune to fish biting their baits (comprise solely of worms), that they had lost count of how many fishes they had caught that day; As her proud mummy, I know that they had caught more than twenty! The “prepared & experienced” adults were put to shame as they were still struggling with their first catch! In fact, one of them, Chang, told the rest “Please don’t tell my colleagues that I have lost out to a bunch of kids!”

That day, I felt that God had taught me an important lesson: It didn’t matter if we were Fortune 500 CEOs or pastors, rich or poor, old or young, monks or missionaries: We stand the same in His eyes – We are His beloved children. Regardless of our status, wealth, deeds, achievements, knowledge, background, race, religions, strengths or weaknesses, He loved us still the same. In fact, He would pursue us when we walk astray and bring us back to Him. As we were fishing that day, I know that all of us were standing on equal ground: The fish didn’t know how to choose a more experienced angler; Its only decision was whether to take the bait before its eyes.

Jesus said in the scriptures: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep”. God didn’t evaluate who we were, or who we are or we are to be, He choose to Love Us.

Therefore, it’s a great comfort to know that we can come to God as we are, not as we wish to be, and definitely not as we have worked ourselves to be.