April 18, 2024
At the end of December, a rare meteorological phenomenon occurred in Texarkana. Fish rained down from the sky during a thunderstorm. Sometimes waterspouts pick up small frogs, crabs, and fish and drop them, but in this case, no evidence of waterspouts could be found to explain this quirk of nature.
“We’re kind of confused as to how it happened,” said one weatherman.
Meteorologists said a line of thunderstorms moved through the area Wednesday afternoon, December 29, but no falling fish warnings were issued. Yet, residents reported seeing fish falling from the sky.
One man, Tim Brigham, told the Texarkana Gazette, that it started hailing and looked like there was about to be a tornado. The next thing he knew, “fish were falling” and bouncing off the concrete. He picked up some to use as bait.
One car dealer reported fish were everywhere on the road in front of his dealership for about a hundred yards. Thankfully, there were no reports of anyone injured by falling fish. Social media was full of people posting fishy pictures.
I love to hear good fish tales. Bubba and Billy Bob were talking about their latest fishing trips and Bubba said, “You wouldn’t believe it. I caught a bass so big it pulled the boat around the lake before I could land it. When I finally pulled it in, it was over four feet long.”
Billy Bob said, “That’s nothing. I was bottom fishing the other night and I hooked something heavy, and when I pulled it in, it was a Coleman Lantern that somebody had dropped overboard, and believe it or not, the lantern was still burning.”
Bubba said, “I’ll tell you what. I’ll take three feet off my bass if you’ll blow out that lantern.”
Billy Bob said, “That’s a Deal!”
One man, Chuck, had been ice fishing all day with absolutely no luck. Not even a nibble. He decided to pack it up when this old guy walked up. Without saying a word, he cut a hole a few feet from Chuck and immediately caught a fish. The old man coughed, put bait on his hook, and within seconds, snagged another fish. This happened three more times within a few minutes.
Chuck could not believe his eyes. He’d been out there all day without seeing a single fish. He walked over to the man and asked, “What’s your secret?”
Woohattakipowrmwm,” he replies.
“What did you say?” Chuck asked.
The man repeated his undecipherable answer.
“What?” Chuck asked again.
The man looked over, spit a mouthful of worms on the ice, and said, “You have to keep your worms warm.”
Comedian Jerry Clower loved to talk about Claude Ledbetter. When no one else was having any luck catching fish, Claude came home every time with a truck load of fish. A state game warden decided to ride out with Claude to observe his technique.
They put the boat in the water and motored out to the middle of the lake. Then Claude reached under his seat and pulled out a long stick of dynamite, lit it, then tossed it into the water and KABOOM! In only seconds, dead fish started floating to the surface all around the boat, and Claude took a net and scooped them into the boat.
The game warden was furious. He flashed his badge and said, “That’s illegal and I’m going to arrest you. You can’t fish with dynamite.”
Claude didn’t say a word. He calmly reached for another stick of dynamite and thrust it into the game warden’s hand.
While the fuse sizzled and the game warden stammered, Claude said, “Are you going to talk, or are you going to fish?”
When Jesus came upon Peter, Andrew, James and John by the Sea of Galilee, these ordinary fishermen were laboring to make a living. Yet, Jesus called them to “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men” (Mark 1:17).
They immediately dropped their nets and followed Him and after three years of learning from Jesus and watching Him model, they learned how to fish for souls rather than fish.
Jesus calls us to become fishers of men, also. If we aren’t fishing, then we aren’t fully following. Are we going to fish?
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David L. Chancey is pastor, McDonough Road Baptist Church, Fayetteville, GA. The church family gather at 352 McDonough Road and invites you to join them this Sunday for worship at 10 a.m. and Bible study at 11:10. Visit www.mcdonoughroad.org for online viewing options. Read Chancey’s other writings at www.davidchancey.com.
