click here to read chapter one
As Jesus and I sat fishing, my thoughts seemed to travel down my fishing pole and deep into the water. I had no idea how I would encourage others to pray and I had no idea why Jesus would choose me. Jesus chose me....I still couldn't wrap my head around that. Why would anyone listen to me? How many times had I tuned out someone who was talking about God or prayer? I mean when you are in church of course you can talk about God, but was Jesus asking me to talk to people outside of church? Who would I approach? Strangers? Neighbors? Co-workers? I could feel my head shaking back and forth again. Was I going to become one of those religious fanatics? Oh, please tell me I'm not going to become the kind of person everyone avoids. What exactly does Jesus want me to do?
As I sat there I could feel the perspiration from my head slowly slide down my face. Was it getting hotter out here or is this whole prayer talk freaking me out? I wiped the sweat off my forehead with a towel from my backpack and grabbed my water bottle for a quick drink. "Just relax," I told myself. I looked over at Jesus. He seemed perfectly content to just sit in silence and let me think. The heat didn't seem to be bothering him at all.
Jesus seemed to sense my gaze and he turned and asked, "Hey, are you hungry? There's a little beach not far from here. We could pull the canoe up on shore and have some lunch. I brought some sandwiches in my bag."
"Lunch sounds great right now," I agreed.
As we started paddling again I said, "I'll just follow your lead."
Jesus let out a burst of laughter, "You know, I really like the way that sounds!"
I joined in his laughter and we began paddling towards lunch.
(to be continued.....)
