Tangles ( #2 of the Fishing Lines Series)

One of the many things I love about fishing is that it isn't really about catching the fish. Well for me it isn't. It's being able to just relax and be quiet. BUT when you take 4 excited kids fishing there is little peace let alone quiet! No those things do not go hand in hand with the kids and fishing. In fact tangles happen more often with kids when you are teaching them how to cast and reel in their hook.

This one instance I was helping Sara remove a hook from a fish she caught and here comes Eli, crying and mad! Mind you I am in the middle of removing a hook and into my lap he throws his fishing pole. Looking down I can see the cause of his discontentment. A massive tangle!

Let me tell you something, a tangled fishing line is not something you want to deal with...but it builds character and determination. I would love to say that I was able to magically untangle that line or at least say it was untangled within 5 mins. But the truth is it took me over an hour to untangle the mess that was more like a birds nest on his pole! UGH!

In that time God started to show me a few things about that tangle and how it applies to our lives. Our lives are just like that line! How you may ask?! The whole reason that this tangle was created was do to impatience! Eli was having difficulty reeling in his line because the hook got stuck on some underwater plants. Instead of slowly reeling it in or even asking for help he took matters into his own hands and yanked it. When he yanked, the line somehow got wrapped around the pole. He is 5 yr old mind you, so he at that moment had no idea what to do. The best thing would have been to bring it to me or lay it down but instead he started swinging the pole which caused even more issues. Until he threw it into my lap.

Now how many times have you and I done this? We are following God's direction and seeking His will for our lives. You know which way to go and are heading that way but hit a snag, that slows you down or impedes you from going forward and instead of waiting for help or going to your Heavenly Father for guidance you yank! You take matters into your own hands trying to make things happen the way you want or expect them to be done. What do you end up with? A HUGE TANGLE! Once you have this tangle, you like everyone else including me, throws that mess into God's lap. I am sure He must get weary with our messes and having to weave through the mess to get us back on track.

Sometimes God lets us hit those snags to slow us down on purpose! Hello did you read that? GOD LETS US HIT SNAGS TO SLOW US DOWN ON PURPOSE! Yes His word tells us He knows the plans He has for us (Jer 29:11) and sometimes those snags are there on purpose...usually to slow us down so we can get our focus back or to teach and train us in those difficult times. But if we hold on to those promises - that He has a plan and trust Him to get us through those times then we will not deal with the major tangles. Tangles slow us down even more so than those snags!

What snags are you trying to speed by? What tangles have you created because you decided to take matters into your own hands? Today, trust that He KNOWS what is best for you and let go of the line and deal with the snags of life. Maybe instead of trying to fix the snag you should pray for God to remove it or help you through it.

Heavenly Father, I am so guilty of this in my own life. Trying to speed things up when I need to slow down. Lord forgive me for not trusting You for the fine details and trying to control the outcomes. Help me to see the snags in life are your way of helping me get my focus on You and not about my plans.