Devotional 4-13-12

Siamese Fighting Fish

Several months ago I went to Wal Mart to get dog treats for our spoiled dogs. While I was there I passed by the fish area and saw the Siamese fighting fish. I had had one a long time ago and knew they were aggressive fish that could not tolerate being with other fish especially their own kind. There was one fish that I saw that day that was in a plastic cup with very little water. He was lying on his side just trying to get enough water to live. I felt sorry for him so I bought him home with the food to take care of him. I put him in a tall container and he began to thrive. I went online to learn about Siamese fighting fish and learned their behavior. They are really mean. They will kill each other for no reason at all as that is their nature. They really do not require all that much care, just some water and some food, but they do like a safe place to hide from harm. I did learn that the male fish make a bubble nest and take care of the eggs from the female and stay with those eggs until they are hatched. I did not provide a safe place for my fish to hide, and he was always flitting around in his container. He was always hungry and searching for safety.

It finally occurred to me that he needed a safe place to be. I put a conch shell in his container that was just the right size for him to hide and seek safety. It took him awhile to learn that the conch shell was there for him to be safe. He finally figured it out. He will now come out to eat occasionally and flits only so often, he then immediately returns to the safety of his conch shell.

Wow, I learned a lot from this fish (I named him Napoleon because he is red and Napoleon always had on a red jacket in his pictures and was a mean fighter, too.). What I learned is that we all need the basic things (food and water), but we still have to have a safe place to really be content in our lives. We may be like that fish and fighting for life with just enough water to get by the best we can, but we need to know that Jesus is our conch shell. Once we realize this, we too can feel safe in His haven that he provided for us. He gave it to us on the cross. We need to thank him everyday for his great gift to us.

Jean Ramsey