The Trapped Goldfish--and God's Way of Escape

Sunday after church we ate our lunch at one of our favorite parks in town, bringing the girls' friend Breanna with us on our way to drop her at her home after sleepover and church together.

That day the daffodils and bluebells and apple blossoms were stunning.

I love the way the willows look as their tender leaves are just beginning to peek out.

Of course the ducks and geese always come to see if we will be like the people who feed them bread crumbs (which a sign says you are not supposed to do anymore).

I do believe these must be bluebells--at least they sure look like bluebells.

It's been so long since I saw actual bluebells.

After a picnic lunch, the children explore around the pond, trying to catch goldfish by their tails at the bridge.

They discovered a goose nest with fresh eggs in it, and Danny is excitedly hollering to us about it.

 It is right by the path, on the edge of the pond.

How that nest has managed to stay unbothered is a mystery, but there it was,

covered in soft goose down.

The mother was away at the  moment, but not long later, we saw the goose pair across the pond near the nest, preening.

And then the children noticed a sloppy plastic bag in the pond--a bag that had something bright orange and alive inside it! Timmy found a stick to pull it closer.

Sure enough, it was a goldfish trapped in that trashy plastic bag!

Like a bright mind trapped in a crippled body.

Like an exuberant spirit trapped in drudgery.

Like a big heart trapped into relationships that belittle it . 

Like a tender heart easily taken over by those with small minds and selfish interests.

Just that weekend in church, our revival evangelist, Nate Kline from Nebraska, a new, promising young preacher (pictured here on the right with his family and his brother Wesley's family from Mitchell, SD)

had preached about spiritual warfare, the enemy's tactics, and God's way of escape from situations that are too much for us.

He reminded us that God promised that He would not lay on us more than we could bear, but would provide a way of escape.

He said Satan is like a seasoned chess player--his goal is to get us into a checkmate, 

a place where there is no way out, where no matter what you do you are had.

But he said that sometimes we don't find the way of escape because we don't look for it!

We assume there isn't any way out of our hard place--

and we too often succumb to the devil.

We don't have to be captured, Nate said. There IS a way of escape. Look for it!

And so that goldfish that was looking for its way of escape, 

and perhaps had given up, suddenly was lifted up in its trashy plastic prison,

and set free by a higher power who had compassion on it.

In a flash, that glow of gold orange slipped away in the water--freed at last by a hand of mercy.
Just like the hand of mercy that reaches down to all of us in our distresses if we would only call out to Him.
He sees us caught in our trash bag, unable to do anything but slither around in circles,
no way to win, no way to escape, no way to live free--
until He comes.

And when He comes, the goldfish swim free, 

the geese nest safely,

and spring daffodils bloom again.