In the last six months that I’ve been working at my new job I have met some incredible people, one of those being a stalwart of a human being named Lyne.  Lyne is fabulous boss lady, what often seems to be an impenetrable fortress of faith, and other days she just downright feels lousy because she has a myriad of illnesses that plague her, but regardless she carries on.  In being the woman of faith that she is, she has heeded her calling to share life experiences and the role her spiritual life has played in helping her navigate them through her blog, which she recently shared with me. Just as I have connected with her as a human in our day to day interactions, her words on the screen seemed to call directly to those in my heart, but one line in particular caught my eye…cast the net one more time.  A reference to John Chapter 21 when the disciples found themselves on a boat casting nets with little return until the Lord provided direction, and then, voila, nets full of fish. Even though they’d been at it all night, even though the fish seemed to be actively avoiding their nets, even though they felt as if failure was the only outcome, they casted the net one more time. There’s a phrase I’ve often heard my dad and say, “that’ll preach”, and that was my response to Lyne after reading her words…that’ll preach.  

Lyne oftentimes. lives her message often without ever delivering a word.  She feels bad, runs on little-to no sleep, and puts up with my shenanigans daily, but each day she gets up and despite not feeling like it, she casts her net one more time.  I’m not saying this “abnormal woman” as she has dubbed herself, feels compelled to come into this office everyday for the sole purpose of being an inspiration to me, but nonetheless she is. She’s prayed with me and for me and in the last six months when there have been times when feeling those prayers have strengthened me beyond what I can explain.  She’s laughed with me and encouraged me through her words and sharing those of other Christian leaders at moments when I felt small, disappointing/dissapointed, and unworthy. She’s cast looks and provided direction that have corrected negative thoughts and behaviors in me that certainly needed correcting. Her willingness to get up and cast her net each day at our little campus has served a purpose in my life and has led me to walk more closely with the Lord.    

We are often plagued by things, beaten down, feeling defeated, but if we have been assigned a task from the Lord, no matter the outcome to date we are to continue until he commands otherwise.  If all is going well, this isn’t so difficult, “you got it God” I say joyfully as I merrily succeed virtually high-fiving him…but what if it feels as if we are following directions, working diligently and coming up empty handed?  The only thing happening is that our energy is becoming further depleted and our spirit more disheartened? Cast the net one more time. Why? Because this could be the time. The time it all clicks. The time when the net fills with a catch so bountiful it requires help to get it all to shore.  Cast the net one more time.

What if it isn’t working?  Ask for guidance. Say Lord am I casting on the “right” side of the boat? Whatever you do though, don’t quit.  Cast the net one more time. Whatever your “net casting” job is. Whether it is to pray for someone. Do not cease.  Maybe it is to accomplish a goal in your life that to date seems to have been an impossible feat. Give it another go.  Maybe it is to simply share a victory when it seemed every obstacle possible tried to stop you. Share, someone may be in the same spot and need to hear your story to shed light on their tunnel’s end.  We all have a calling. A job to do. A net to cast. Even when you’re tired, you feel done, and as if you simply can’t try again. Do it anyway. Cast the net one more time. Because friends there’s a reason he’s telling you to cast that net, and the next time you do, it may just be the time His purpose for that effort is fulfilled.  Then, ask him which net and how he’d have you start casting next…

John 21:6: “And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.

Also, if you want to read Lyne’s blog, which I highly suggest, here is the link: http://abnormalwoman.blogspot.com/

She’s a living testament to her words, cast the net one more time.  Perhaps I love Lyne so much because in many ways she reminds me of my mom, a similar human who manages to carry on through life despite the many adversities that seem to impede her physical health.  Someone who has little reserved energy but gives it her all without regard to that fact. Maybe it is just because I love a strong woman of faith like my beloved Faye Jones and Marilyn Snyder. Regardless, her casting the net one more time encourages me to do the same.  So if you are like me, and you have a net that you may be tired of casting, or in my case wondering if there’s even a purpose sometimes to it, but you still feel compelled by the Lord to do so, cast it one more time!