This was not a task for the faint hearted or the inexperienced.  Launching into the deep at night, their modest fishing trawler jerked away from the peer, laden with heavy nets jammed in between the middle racks.  The men shifted to maintain balance, piercing the stillness of the water with the rhythmic movement of their oars.  Their silhouettes merged gracefully into the inky black sky as they silently set out for the task ahead. 

They would row several miles into the deep waters.  As a  team who had weathered much together, they knew each other deeply, with an intimacy that needed few spoken words to communicate.  They settled into sync. In a way that only men can, they vocalized grunts sometimes interspersed with a jocular jest to pass the time until they reached the deep water of the lake.  With the exquisite coordination forged by a lengthy partnership, they lowered the gangly net overboard, making sure that it did not entangle as it disappeared below the surface. 

It was then the hardest work began...the waiting for the fish.  Each man merged deeply into his own private muse, adjusting to find the most comfortable position...this would be another long night.  This did not disguise the alertness to even the smallest tug; they knew their nets in the way most people know a favorite tool or familiar keepsake.  The net had survived many plunges below the surface & had been carefully mended when larger catches had strained it's capacity to hold the days' catch. 

Hours passed, the stillness settling around them like the shroud of a damp,heavy blanket.  Occasionally a ripple of wind would grace the surface but all in all it was a quite night, an ordinary night.  As dawn began to stretch it's tentacled finger of light across the eastern sky, the strain & weariness was apparent as the light began to reveal the  faint & then clearer images of the men's faces.  Startled by the sound that carried & jolted their revere, they heard a voice.  Squinting to see across the horizon, they could see him, just faintly.  But his voice rang clear across the vastness of the lake's expanse.  Gentlemen he called, "Any luck catching anything last tonight?" 

They didn't know who he was, but the disappointment of the wasted night without any success in their fishing endeavor suffused only enough energy to respond with simple honesty.  Pete, the burliest of the fisherman, ever eager to be first on the draw shouted back "Nope, we've been fishing all night...No luck."  They expected him to continue on his way or with whatever he was doing, but he had something else to say.  "Hey guys, why don't you cast the net on the other side of the boat?"  An incredulous look passed between them.  Who was this guy? 

But maybe it was the way he said it, or maybe that they were so tired that as ridiculous as the suggestion was there was no power to resist.  Or maybe, the power of the suggestion had a force of it's own which was beyond the ability of their tired minds to fathom or comprehend.  Nevertheless, the menbegan to synchronize the difficult process of pulling a heavy,soggy net out of the water & taking it 5 feet over the bow of the boat to the other side of the boat... on the same lake where their boat had remained all night.  They didn't understand why they felt compelled to follow the directions of this stranger, but they did. 

As the net sank deeply, finding it's landing, they felt it.  The startled disbelief registering instantly on their weather beaten, tired faces. The drag was unmistakable, something was happening down there.  They struggled to balance the boat as the lurching below continued; the pull on the net indicating that either they'd caught their first whale or the biggest catch in the history of their long careers.  Time rattled to a stop.

A squint into the glare of the rising sun, a question, an excited statement from John..."It must be him!"  Pete got it; it hit him like a thunderbolt of white lightening. The guy whose voice they had heard,  the guy on the shore...could it be, was it...him?  As the others struggled to bring the boat to dock, he left them,thrusting on his cloak to cover the nakedness of his body, he hurtled himself into the water; swimming frantically to shore, shaken & jubilant at the same time. 

You see, a fisherman had discovered that there was more to fishing than he understood.  His years on the waters suddenly paled as he gazed at the man who must know something about the mysteries of the making of waters...to have given such a powerful suggestion.

Perhaps, you too have been fishing on your sea of experience for a long time.  Like these men, you're not new at this.  You've graduated from the school of hard knocks and earned your stripes & even a multitude of accolades.  Million Dollar Producer, Platinum Producer, #1 Agent & a host of other accolades behind your name to prove you know what you're doing. 

But recently, things have changed...there is an uncertainty underfoot that underlies everything you are doing.  All the tricks of the trade, the skills you'd honed through the years have brought less return value for your investment as you spent more & more time, effort and money.  Many of the activities which had never failed to guarantee results have became marginal or stopped yielding altogether.  In the moments of quiet you wondered...Is this how it was all going to go down...all this effort , all these years.

Somehow, you must garner the strength to do just one more thing.  One more thing that seems the same, but is also strangely different.  Although, you don't know it yet, it's not about moving anywhere or doing something dramatic or bizarre. It's about discovering a new face, a different place. Like the men in the boat, it's about recognizing another side of the space that you've occupied all this time.  Just like there are 2 sides to a coin, and 2 sides to a story, there is another side of discovery which will only reveal itself when you have exhausted all the other reliable resources that have been your mainstay. 

The call  that hails the arrival of the "catch of a lifetime" arises most clearly out of the mist of disillusionment where the silence of the heart asks a question which has no ordinary answer.  It is there the Master's voice resonates deeply with clarity & honesty forcing us to answer questions we would rather not.  Are you going to continue alone, or will you be willing to change the things you have always had faith would yield results for you?

 Will you be willing to cast the net on the other side and lend another the gate keys  of your fate?  You will not fail to hear it. There will always be an instruction...not a map...just an instruction about the next step.  This is not a task for the faint at heart or a time to be swayed by anything outside the clear dictates of your soul. There will only be just  enough light for the next step on your path.  You will recognize it & know it resonates truth.  But, the challenge we must all face is this...will we obey it?

Story adapted from "The appearance beside the sea"  John 21: 1-14

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