God Works A Miracle At The Lake

A Miracle From God

The story begins with a family camping outing near a lake in Northern New Mexico. The lake is one of three such reservoirs located in the northern part of the state. The area is very remote and incredibly beautiful. It was the middle of Summer and the reservoir was still very full from the heavy Spring run off that occurred as a result of the annual snow pack melt in the mountains just above the lake.

The family was from Albuquerque and had traveled up to camp at a ranch near the lake. The family included the Mother, Father and at the time 3 young brothers. One morning the family made the long trek up to the lake to spend the day. The two younger brothers asked for permission to do some fishing. The youngest brother was approximately 7, the older around 10. The brothers were extremely close and spent much of their time together. Their parents were great people and always trusted that the boys would do what they promised to do. In this case, the boys promised they would fish, not throw rocks at the local critters and would be very mindful of their fishing equipment. Even though the lake where they were fishing was very deep, the parents trusted the boys to be careful and to stay far enough back from the edge so as to not fall in.

The brothers began to fish around midday. The older brother cast his bait into the lake with no trouble. He had been fishing since early childhood and was quite skilled at the art. The younger brother on the other hand struggled with his line and with his pole, as usual. At one point the younger brother decided he was ready to cast his line into the water. He reared back and threw as hard as he could, one big problem though. He threw so hard the pole came flying out of his hands. It landed in the lake! The little brother immediately started to cry. He was so worried that by loosing his pole he would face a spanking at the hands of an angry set of parents.

The older brother, didn't panic. Even though the pole had landed right in the deepest part of the lake (The Dam Pictured Above). What to do pondered the older brother. Diving for the pole was out. The lake was simply too deep and the water far too cold. Calling for the parents was out. They would be upset at the loss of the pole and likely spank everybody involved. Throwing the younger brother in the lake with a line attached was out because, well it was simply ruled out. What to do? The older brother finally concluded, the answer to this problem was to pray to God for help. Interesting solution for someone so young, but none the less it was the solution he choose.

After praying for some time, the older brother decided it was time to cast his line into the lake and trust that God would use the tiny little hook on the end of his fishing line to snag his brothers pole and allow him to retrieve it back to shore. Most people would have scoffed at this solution. How could the tip of a small hook, the size of the point of a sewing needle, ever find a missing fishing pole in a lake that was 80 - 100 feet deep at the point the pole had entered the water. The older brother was not swayed by the doubters or by the ridiculous physics equation that he and God were faced with solving. He simply trust in God and cast his line way out into the lake.

He cast his line out as far as he could throw it. The line and hook landed well past the point where the younger brother's pole had entered the lake, thus adding further obstacles for God in the physics problem he was being asked to solve. The older brother trusting, just let the line sink all the way to the bottom and waited and prayed. Dear God, please help me hook my brothers pole and allow me to get it back for him. He is so upset and is crying God and I don't like it when my little brother is upset. Help me God to make him happy again. Help me to snag his pole and bring it back to shore. With your help God, the point of my hook will find his pole and together we will drag it back in. As the boy prayed, he began to reel very, very slowly. With each crank of the reel he prayed, harder and harder. Please God, take my hook and connect it to my brothers fishing pole! I can't do this without your help. He is so sad Lord and I just want to make him happy again.

All the sudden the older brother's line went tight. It had in fact snagged onto something. The lake was full of rocks and other underwater obstructions. Not to be deterred the boy continued to reel and to pray. Please God let this be my brothers pole. As the older brothers line came to the surface, it was clear that the hook had in fact snagged something. It had snagged onto fishing line from another fisherman. The older brother, trusting in God that he had in fact snagged the line from his younger brothers pole and not some other random line from the thousands of fishermen who had stood in this very spot casting before him, began to pull on the line. He pulled and pulled. After a few moments he realized that there was in fact something on the end of this piece of line. Was it a tree limb a fish or could it in fact be his brothers pole? God proved the answer to that question. The older brothers face lit up. God had in fact answered his prayers. At the other end of the fishing line was the younger brothers fishing pole. The younger brother seeing the pole exit the lake jumped for joy. He was so excited, even though he did not realize that a prayer had just been answered and in fact a miracle had just played out in front of him. The older brother simply handed the pole to his little brother and told him not to loose it again. Then the boy stopped and thanked God for answering his prayers and for making his little brother happy again.

Some would scoff at this being a miracle and would argue there was no miracle performed here today. Others, myself included, being wiser and more knowing would disagree. Who but God could have taken a fishing hook, with a point barely larger than the head of a sewing needle, cast it into the deepest part of a lake filled with rocks, limbs and other obstructions and connected that hook to the fishing line of a pole lying in 80 - 100 feet of water, surrounded by thousands of pieces of broken fishing line from previous fishermen. Keep in mind that the precise fishing line God had to find and snag was barely the thickness of a single strand of human hair. The older brothers answer, "No one but God" could have accomplished that task or solved the ridiculous Physics equation. Only God could have found that proverbial needle in the haystack at the bottom of that deep lake! You agree or disagree?

The younger brother in this story was my little brother David. The older brother was in fact the author of this article, Mark Lein. This story is true! It really happened just like I described! Since that day, I have tried to never question God's decisions. He is almighty God! Maker of Heaven and Earth! We should aspire to enter his house someday and until then be his humble servants, doing his earthly work, until he calls us home. In the meantime, I believe his intentions are for us are this. Enjoy life! Experience Life! Don't be Fearful! Don't Whine! Take each and every day I grant you on earth and be thankful! Rejoice in your life and share that excitement with others!

Funny how fishing, water, lakes and such always seem to be associated with God and Christ. Maybe the water, arguably one of the single most important elements of human existence, is a symbol of God's presence and his gifts to us. Maybe that is why God's people are so often drawn to places like El Vado lake. Or, maybe it's just those big ole trout God has hidden in the water, under those rocks that draws us there :-). Only God knows for sure! He just wants us to enjoy each and every day and to support each other to that end.

I hope this story was helpful to you. It is true and I have never shared it with the public before today. My biggest regret was I never shared it with my little brother David. I should have! I decided to share this miracle because something in me just felt that some of you out there need to hear this story. My wish for you is that God's grace and love go with you all each and every day of your life. While you are at it, take a moment to visit this link (http://www.theinterviewwithgod.com/). Click view presentation once you have reached the linked web site. You will really enjoy this short video, I promise.

This article is dedicated to the memory of my little brother and to my wonderful family whom I have had the pleasure of sharing life's many experiences with for the past 50 plus years.

Warmest Regards,

Mark Lein