Author: admin

I recently held a letter in my own hands written by my great grandmother Mary May (Slankard) Hightower in 1929 to her son and daughter-in-law, my grandparents. It was in a box of papers that looked as though they would disintegrate and fly away if I breathed hard on them. I carefully unfolded the letter and brushed the dust off with a soft-bristle paintbrush, then placed it in an acid-free archival-quality clear plastic sleeve to protect it.

Those letters she wrote reveal something of my family that I might not have known. It always seemed to me that my family was not very well educated, but here I was reading letters, handwritten letters, written by my supposedly uneducated great grandmother who was born in 1867 and died in 1953. She wrote 5 pages of her life—how she missed her son and daughter-in-law, what the weather was like, what she was growing in her garden. She talked of being thankful that the Lord was helping her in an illness. She had clear handwriting, and wrote using clear language.

On the 1880 census, my great grandmother was 12 and going to school. In 1900 she was 34 and had been married 15 years, had five children from ages 3-14, and could read, write, and speak English, according to the census. Her three older children were in school and two of them could read, write, and speak English. Her 7-year-old was able to speak English but couldn’t read or write yet. These were my family who I considered uneducated.

I don’t think that my great grandmother knew she was writing a letter that would be read by her future descendants but she had something she wanted to communicate and God saw that it was important enough for it to be preserved for her great grandchildren and other descendants to come.

 “Write down for the coming generation what the Lord has done, so that people not yet born will praise him.” Psalm 102:18. Good News Translation.

We have the ability to use our words to communicate with future generations.֎

I was hungry for fish. Money was tight, so I had tried begging my fisherman neighbor but he told me that he’d given away his last catch and his freezer was empty.

I remember praying a simple prayer, like “Jesus, I’d sure like to have some fish to eat.” About 2 p.m. a kid from down the street rang the doorbell. This family had 3 or 4 little kids under 10 years old and they tormented me a lot, running in and out of my house all day long just like it was their own.

 “Mom said to ask you if you want some fish.” I was shocked. Was the Lord going to answer my prayer through them? Of course I said yes, and started to get the sink ready to clean them. Here came that kid again with a plate of fresh fried crappie hot off the fire.  “Mom cooked these fish but us kids don’t like ’em,” and ran off to play.

That reminds me of another time that Jesus supplied the fish. It happened right after Jesus rose from the dead. Peter was discouraged and thinking about going back to his old life. He told his friends, “I’m going fishing.” They said, “We’ll go with you.” But they fished all night and caught nothing.  When dawn broke, Jesus stood on the beach and called, “Boys, did you catch any fish? Do you have anything to eat with your bread?” They said, “No!”

He said to them, “ Cast your net on the right side of the boat,” and they caught so many they couldn’t haul them all in. When Peter realized it was Jesus, he jumped off the boat and swam to shore. John 21:6. NKJV.

 Jesus already had a fire going, and fish and bread ready to eat. “Come and eat, boys.”  The feast in heaven may just be crappie and fresh fried hushpuppies, cooked by Jesus Himself.

Jesus used Peter’s boat as a stage to preach from with water as a natural amplification system. He wanted to repay Peter for the use of his boat, so He told Peter to get out away from the shore and let down his nets for a catch of fish. Jesus told Peter, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a draught.” Luke 5:4 KJV.

Peter had fished all night and hadn’t caught a thing but he said, “Nevertheless, at thy word” and did what Jesus told him to do. And the result was probably the biggest catch he ever took. His boat was about to sink and he had to call for help from other boats.

Each one of those fish was like a dollar bill to Peter. After a profitless night of hard work, now in just a short time, Peter probably had enough money to pay all his bills and live on for a long time. Then Jesus said to Peter, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”

Peter did something for Jesus. The result was that Jesus did something for Peter, using what was natural for Peter to supply his needs. But Peter had to make up his mind to do just what Jesus said.

In one act of obedience, when all natural wisdom cautioned against it, Peter took Jesus at His word and said, “Nevertheless, at thy word, I will.”

We can do something for Him, as He asks us to, like teach a Sunday School class, sing in the choir, give to the poor. When Jesus speaks to your heart, through His word, decide that you will be a Peter and take Jesus at His word.

You’ll receive much more than your little boat can hold.