YOU CAN LEARN SO MUCH FROM WATCHING FISH . . . .

The lady that lived in the house next door to Charles and I died of cancer a few months ago. We only knew her to wave to her and we never knew she was sick. Charles became friendly with her son Adam who lived in North Carolina but came up every week after his mom died to get the house ready for selling because he did not want to keep it. Adam gave Charles the keys to the house in case we knew someone that wanted to look at it before he turned it over to the real estate agent. Charles also collected the mail for Adam and left it in the house.

When the house was finally sold, Adam rented a truck and took all of his mom’s furniture and belongings to North Carolina . He took everything except her fifty-five gallon fish tank. That he gifted to Charles. Charles was so happy. We cleaned it out and let the new fresh water flow through the filter for a few days. Then we went to Petsmart and purchased ten pretty fish. All the fish swam around the tank and seemed to get along with each other. All of them . . . except for this big grayish Oscar fish. “Big Gray” grew bigger than all of the other fish and grew up to be a big bully. He would chase all of the fish all over the tank. It was sad to see the other fish swim away as fast as they could as soon as they saw Big Gray approaching them.

Big Gray terrorized all of the other fish constantly. You would think the other nine fish would get together and kill or at least hurt Big Gray. They didn’t. They just continued to jump out of the way when the big fella swam near them.

What do you do when there is a bully around? Do you run away or do you stand up to him/her? The bible says, "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger" (Proverbs 15:1). Do fish pray? They must because out of the clear blue sky yesterday, Charles told me that he called a few pet stores and he found one that would take Big Gray. He said he was sick and tired of that fish terrorizing the other nine fish but he did not want to flush Big Gray (as I suggested). Prayer is one of the most powerful weapons we have when going up against a bully. We have to pray that God will change the bully's heart while He gives us strength to walk away or we can also pray for God to just move bulllies away from us. Hmmmm, I believe fish can pray.
I also think fish read the bible. They must have read this scripture : “This is what the Lord says to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's.” (2 Chronicles 20:15). They must have had enough faith to believe that God would make their battles His battles, and they knew He would fight their battle (against Mr Gray) for them. They might have been familiar with this scripture as well, “A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all" (Psalm 34:19).

Let me tell you a secret that I learned; God never promised us that life would be a bed of roses while we are here in this world. One of the things I have learned is that God will fight our battles if we just keep still. Will you surrender (like the fish) and let Him fight your battles? Imagine how happy our lives will be if we did that? Will you try? I intend to!

A lot has happened with our fish over the last three years between 7/24/2008 and 11/10/2011:
After “Big Gray” moved out of our house, Charles replaced him with a white Oscar who was really nice. He was very kind (unlike Big Gray) and did not bother other fish (although he grew five times bigger than the other fish). Sadly, the big white fish died when Charles was in NY and I was home alone (why did that fish die on my watch???). I left him in the tank until Charles came home (too scared to scoop him out). Charles was so sad because that fish had the same “nice guy” disposition as Charles. Next he bought a black Oscar. This new guy was alright but yesterday Charles gave all the fish and the aquarium to Juan (his good friend who lives on the next block). Guess why? Because Charles got and even bigger aquarium from another one of his friends (I can’t remember the guy’s name) who lives about five blocks over. Oh geeze, this fish thing might be getting out of hand . . . .maybe we should get a dog (like Charles wants) because fish need a LOT of care . . . .you know what I’ve learned? All of God’s creatures need love and care. Whether they talk or walk or swim or fly or are stuck in dirt like plants. We all need love and care and prayer! “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32)

Sharon Griffin-Rogers
Florida, USA
God’s big neighborhood