Great vocation miracles that happened the other day…
I had watched the fishers of men video (posted a few pages ago) many times. Very inspiring! This week, I’m in Pensacola, Florida, which is on the beach. Last sunday after mass I went to the beach, and I went out into the water. In a sort of half-prayer but not really, my heart spoke (I didn’t really think it, but it’s one of those things where you understand a feeling as words):
“Lord, if it is in your will, let me catch a decent sized fish, not a little fish, with my hand so that I may know if you want to be a fisher of men”.
I ate lunch and came back to the beach, having forgotten what my heart had said at that moment. I was walking with my dad down the coast in the shallows, and two catfish come up by our legs. My dad started flipping out, because not only were these catfish that weren’t native to the area, they were FRESHwater catfish. Someone had to have put them there, as we were in the ocean. Very decent sized fish also, about 2lb fish. We didn’t have nets or anything, so we’re jumping around, tackling the water, eating sand a few times trying to catch these catfish. They were just not swimming away. As many times as we tried to catch them, they swam back at least within a few yards. It was almost a game! Finally, I chase mine onto the beach where it gets cornered. My dad slapped his up onto the sand. I went to grab mine, but the moment I grabbed mine, the fish’s barb pierced into my finger about half an inch deep. Ouch! I definitely grabbed it, because I flung it out a few feet away from me. My dad had his in his hand (he’s a decent angler) and grabbed mine. He was joking around and made them “kiss” as he was holding them. Then he threw them back out. He told me to keep pressure on my wound, etc. We continued walking. After a while, I remembered what I had prayed in the water, and told it to my dad. I couldn’t figure out why the fish pierced me. My dad said, “in light of [you being pierced], God might be telling you that being a priest will not be easy. It’s going to be hard.” I still have the wound on my finger. It healed up withing a day. That evening, I was sitting next to my dog, petting him. My dog had been suffering from some back injury of some sort. He wouldn’t hardly move, and when he walked it was with a terrible limp. My heart moved, as if telling me to pray for him. So I prayed, “if it is in your will Lord, please heal my dog”. The next day my dog was moving about, almost completely fine. His limp was almost gone, and he was eager to get outside and play. Lastly, yesterday I was out in the water again. I said, “Lord, is it wrong to expect a miracle every day? Certainly you work one every day, I just do not hardly see it. If it is in your will, then let me see a miracle because of my ignorance.” I looked down, and at my feet was a huge black dot in the water. It kept going further and further out into sea. I thought it was seaweed, but I chased it anyway. After about ten or so yards of chasing, the sun hit it just right to where I could see detail. This was no seaweed. This was a sea turtle leading me out into sea.
I’m still not sure what to think about all those miracles. Why did God use me? I’m definitely not worthy. It’s almost embarassing! But let his will be done, not mine.