He was there the whole time
Cherry Creek Reservoir
Head to the West Marina
“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you”
— Hebrews 13:5
Written by our good friend Steve Dovey
Do you ever forget Jesus wants to be with you? Unfortunately, I do.
My son Stevie went out fishing with a friend Thursday night at Cherry Creek Reservoir. HIs buddy had a boat and together, they had a blast until they were getting ready to pull the boat back out and go home. Stevie was on the dock when his $180 Oakley sunglasses fell into the water! These were his prized possession. He saved forever for them. At 10:30pm he and his friend spent 30 mins looking with no luck. He was VERY bummed when he got home to say the least. I told him “no big deal bud, we’ll go look for them tomorrow.” “Nope, we’ll never find them” was his dejected reply.
The next morning he didn’t want to go but I told him we need to look. In life—even if it doesn’t work out you need to give it your best shot, and do your best to never give up because something is or seems hard. I finally convinced him to go. I even told him to bring my big fishing net.
Once we arrived we got in the water—it was freezing! He would look on one side of the dock and then jump out, then I would get in and look on the other. He would go for a little bit then I would go for a little bit. He finally said “I’m done!” I told him no, let’s try just a bit more. We would use the net to drag under the dock and then out further from the dock. We tried to cover as much ground as possible. Back and forth we went. We finally made it out just past where he thought he had dropped them. Again he told me “I’m done.”
So this story doesn’t go on too long, let’s just say we went back and forth on whether to stop or not for nearly an hour. Every time he was ready to quit, I’d ask him if that was the effort he gave in Varsity football. He would allows come back with a quiet “no.” I was proud of him for the effort he put out and frankly I was cold and tired myself. At one point my toe was caught by a treble hook! I thought it was just about time to throw in the towel, but that is when my eyes were opened. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I confessed to God that I had completely left Him out of this lesson I was trying to teach my son. More importantly, I had left Him out of trying to find a needle in a haystack (and simply just inviting Him along with what I was doing). Finally after confessing what a jerk I had been, I invited God to join the search. I told God it would be awesome if He would just help us find those glasses. It wasn’t that Stevie NEEDED the glasses as much as he needed to be reminded that sometimes God just loves to give good gifts to His kids.
I thought I’ll give this 5 more mins. Stevie had already give up and was sitting on the dock picking his stuff up and getting ready to go. I said “I’ll go up to the next post, then you give it a quick shot. Then we can go knowing we gave it a really good try.” He agreed.
I swept with that net like crazy, knowing full well that I was going to pick them up at any moment! Back and forth until I got to the post. That’s when I told God “I’ll just give it 5 more tries.” Of course the fist four attempt came back empty. That’s when I tried the fifth time. I pulled the net up and—nothing!! I just somehow figured He was going to allow me to find them. I was up to my neck and wasn’t going to go any further. But I thought I would just feel out under the dock with my feet 3 times. Yep, the first two attempts—nothing, but on the third and last try, I grabbed a pair of sunglasses with my toes. Stevie’s prizes Oakleys!! I could feel Jesus laughing with a great big smile standing right there next to me. Remember the story of Him with the little children? I always picture Him laughing with them.
God loves to give us really good things
Knowing full well I have the glasses, I told Stevie to jump in one last time and give it a shot. As he jumped in I slipped on the sunglasses. He tried for about one minute then said “I’m done.” He jumped out and grabbed his stuff to go, never complained, but you could see the disappointment in his eyes. He grabbed his stuff and even slipped on his goggles (just in case) and started to leave. He never even looked up at me once. I finally said “Hey bud, I bet these would look a lot better on you that those silly goggles.” That’s when he looked up and finally saw them! His Oakleys! I’ll never forget the look on his face!
I told him the story of me forgetting to include God in our day—in our adventure. And when I finally did include Him, everything changed. I told him that you didn’t need those glasses. You needed to learn about not giving up and much more important—KNOWING God is fun. And knowing God changes things. He would never be any less God had we not found the glasses, but so often in life when we’re looking for Him, He just loves to give us really good things.
He’s with me when I ask Him to be. He’s with me when I forget. He’s with me on amazing days and He’s with me when I cry.
Here’s the lesson I learned on Friday June 5th, at 2:34 in that afternoon. Jesus is with me. He’s always with me. The Bible tells me this over and over and over. He’s with me when I ask Him to be. He’s with me when I forget. He’s with me on amazing days and He’s with me when I cry. The thing I had to learn again that day was that He will never leave me. Ever. I guess I’ll likely have to learn that lesson again at some point, though I hope that’s not the case. My question to you is: Do you know He is with you always? Do you know that as a fact? Does it change how you approach life? He might not always slip a pair of Oakleys up between your toes (LOL). If He doesn’t, He still right there with you—for you. I know He’s there when life is hard. Especially when it’s hard. I hope you know that.
My Prayer for you:
As you walk around at Cherry Creek Reservoir, I would encourage you to go by the West Marina. Look at the dock. What I saw at first was this. Geese and ducks were swimming close by, lots of people just south along the beach area playing, and a few jet skis and some boats zipping by. What I forgot to see is Jesus. My prayer is that you find Jesus there. The bible says that creation declares Your glory. I found Him standing right next to me. I hope you do too.
This spot has been prayed for:
That you find Jesus there
That you enjoy and take in His nature
That you smile
That you know you’re never alone
That you remember God is good—all the time
Things you can do:
Walk around the reservoir
Write a comment, prayer, or request below
Remember God is bigger than C-19 and is heart broken by the way we dehumanize people.
