Koi Coin

Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee (Matthew 17:27)

When the world went topsy turvy, so too my work, tipped this way then that, spilling my clients out of my life. I loved my clients and had worked closely with many of them for years. When one by one then backed away from our training or coaching relationship, I was left wondering who they had become, and had I known them at all?

Fear oddly snuck them off to some nether nether land. They willingly retired their lives, hung up their running shoes, closeted their need to be seen and heard for their own betterment, and "sheltered at home". Such an odd thing to type, "sheltered at home"... 

I wonder about them sometimes. A friend of mine that died young, used to use the expression, "A fig newton of my imagination". Did I imagine having THAT many clients? Did I ever really get up early enough to train people for 6:30 a.m? All that time I spent in traffic to get to a clients house, was it real? All the intimate conversations, the sharing of bits and pieces of ourselves with one another, what was all that? 

To answer my own question, I do believe I knew them, perhaps in ways they did not know themselves. They, the clients that evaporated one by one in rapid succession, were and are still, I assume, worldling's; people that prefer to preserve themselves here on earth, rather than look to eternity, with heaven as their final destination and home. The worldling's pulled back from relating, next they shamefully masked themselves from one another, followed soon after, with willingly getting needled, sometimes to death. The progression of sin was rapid fire, machine gun like execution of relationships with concomitant consequences for choosing badly, wrongfully, wickedly. 

When I was in Home Sense last week, I found a Koi fish, crafted by human hands. I really liked the fella, and brought him home. As I type, he sits on my desk, eye balling me, mouth agape, fins flexed and tail poised for swooshing. The scripture above, of Jesus' instructions to His disciple Peter, came to mind the other day, and it delighted me to place a two dollar coin in my koi's open for business mouth. 

Imagine the delight Peter experienced when he went to the sea, cast a hook, took up the first fish that presented itself, and found a piece of money there, to be used for paying taxes for both of them? God has a wonderful wooing way of letting us know that earthly things do not impede the heavenly King. For humans like you and me, the message is clear: God provides if and when and where and how HE LIKES, and while Peter didn't earn the cash, and he still had to pay his expenses, God gave him exactly what he needed when he needed it, to be a responsible citizen in the world. 

Imagine if Peter had scoffed at Jesus, mocking Him by saying, Don't be ridiculous Jesus, you sound like a fool. Fish ain't no bank account, just like money don't grow on trees! Imagine that ... I feel like I am tiptoeing on spring ice that might crack beneath my feet in a moment just by typing this suggestion. Peter, knowing Who Jesus was, wouldn't have dared to breath out these words because he knew better. He had witnessed miracles and clearly, knew nothing was impossible for God in the flesh.

Nothing, dear reader, is impossible, for God in the flesh

Nothing, dear reader, is impossible for God

You live in your fleshly garment, a here today, gone tomorrow tent that houses your soul. If nothing is impossible for God, and you have the faith of a disciple, does it not stand to reason, that you fearlessly believe every word ushered from the Saviours mouth? 

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? (Matthew 6:25)

Shifted

My business is different now, with my ratio of working as a coach vs personal trainer having shifted. People are looking for help in what has become a weird and wonky world. More than ever before, the lost and lonely are experiencing existential crisis, and are turning to God and the Bible for understanding, wisdom, guidance, and a spiritual view of the circumstances they are encountering. What God's children are learning is how great, marvellous, wonderful He is as Father, provider, strength and courage when we feel unsure, unsettled and shaky. 

I could have done what many did: I typed this knowing it is a lie ... 

I could not do what many have done. I could not keep my distance, cover my face, get injected, walk away from relationship for fear of being made sick enough to actually die: I couldn't, refused to, and am glad I did none of these things. Doing any or all of them, dear reader, would have killed me bit by bit, and perhaps this is what is happening to those that complied with the orders from the evil ones? 

I could not would not do these things for money, safety, a high five, or a baritone low bit of praise, because none of it was righteous, holy, helpful, kind, worthy of dignified human conduct. So, dear one, I found me a koi, and recalled the words of my Saviour. I placed a coin in its open mouth as a reminder, that what seems miraculous to me, is just plain old fun for God as He displays His power and might over all things living and dead. 

God is fun, and He made us with wonder, we are wonderfully made! Isn't that astounding?

I will end here, with a suggestion and a challenge:

Suggestion: If you went along with any or all of the government funded (really, tax payers dollars misappropriated by hand picked puppets that seek to maim, kill and destroy when they follow the orders of the devil) and pushed propaganda, call out to God, ask for forgiveness and in your repentance, ask to be made new in the image of Christ, our Lord and Saviour. Jesus modelled obedience to His Father, and we can be just like Him. 

Challenge: The next time someone insists on how you are to conduct yourself, consider the source, consider the consequences and the costs involved. Consider the impact you will have on the people in your life, and the far reaching impact each choice you make has on our mutual future while we walk God's green earth. 

Fortunately for me, I love my work, but I count on God as my provider, not my clients, that come and go, for whatever reason. You can rely on Him too, not just for funding your life, but for your every need ... 

Ask, and ye shall receive, when you ask for His will to be done, not yours 💖

PS: Don't strain your eyes in an attempt to read the text in the picture, just below the koi ... it is the scripture quoted at the beginning of this piece of writing. For more of the same, go to the Bible, authored by God Almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost Company