life lessons from a fighting fish
I suspect I could learn a few things from my fish.
Meet Ivan the betta:
Ivan is a solitary sort of fish (after all, the other name assigned to his species is "Siamese fighting fish"; it is safe to assume he would not play well with others), but his solitary nature comes with one significant exception: he would really like to meet a lady betta and make baby fish. Thus, whenever I clean his bowl, his post-cleaning ritual follows a very predictable pattern: swim around in a huff, look hungry, attack a few pieces of betta chow and move on to the all-important task of creating a bubble nest for the eggs of his putative offspring.
For Ivan, hope springs eternal.
Now, Ivan's case may be a bit hopeless, as the likelihood of a lady fish suddenly materializing in his gallon bowl is quite low. Most of us, however, struggle with far more complicated lives of hope, frustration and potential loss. I know I can sometimes feel like I am swimming into a wall a la Ivan in his original tiny cup on a Critter Cabana shop shelf.
In his tiny fish brain, Ivan believes that there will always be another chance. We can believe this too; after all, it is what we have been told by the One who makes unbroken promises.
"So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened."
--Luke 11:9-10
Ivan doesn't have the sophistication to adjust his ideas and expectations in response to the answers he receives through prayer, so he'll probably keep creating those bubble nests. (In fact, he probably doesn't pray. Heathen fish!) Fortunately, God has blessed us with a higher level of discernment... and if we continue to ask and continue to search, those doors will eventually open in the manner God has planned for us.
Meet Ivan the betta:
Ivan is a solitary sort of fish (after all, the other name assigned to his species is "Siamese fighting fish"; it is safe to assume he would not play well with others), but his solitary nature comes with one significant exception: he would really like to meet a lady betta and make baby fish. Thus, whenever I clean his bowl, his post-cleaning ritual follows a very predictable pattern: swim around in a huff, look hungry, attack a few pieces of betta chow and move on to the all-important task of creating a bubble nest for the eggs of his putative offspring.
For Ivan, hope springs eternal.
Now, Ivan's case may be a bit hopeless, as the likelihood of a lady fish suddenly materializing in his gallon bowl is quite low. Most of us, however, struggle with far more complicated lives of hope, frustration and potential loss. I know I can sometimes feel like I am swimming into a wall a la Ivan in his original tiny cup on a Critter Cabana shop shelf.
In his tiny fish brain, Ivan believes that there will always be another chance. We can believe this too; after all, it is what we have been told by the One who makes unbroken promises.
"So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened."
--Luke 11:9-10
Ivan doesn't have the sophistication to adjust his ideas and expectations in response to the answers he receives through prayer, so he'll probably keep creating those bubble nests. (In fact, he probably doesn't pray. Heathen fish!) Fortunately, God has blessed us with a higher level of discernment... and if we continue to ask and continue to search, those doors will eventually open in the manner God has planned for us.
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