Our little Beta fish

We thought we had lost our beloved beta fish, Sammy (short for Samar i) .  We had just returned from a trip to a friend's cottage (more on that in the next post) and were quickly trying to get the kids in bed when I noticed the lifeless body laying limp on the leaf in the fish tank. When I gently gave the tank a nudge, the fish fell to the bottom of the tank and remained there showing no signs of life.  Both of the boys burst into tears when I told them our fish had died.  I knew Sammy could make it a few days without food as Betas are very hardy fish, but I had forgotten that the house would get quite chilly as we had turned down the heat while we were away.  It was just too cold in the house for the fish, and I felt horrible that my actions had caused the death of this poor creature.  Graham cried himself to sleep that night, and after he finally fell asleep, Tim and I contemplated removing Sammy from the tank and flushing him down the toilet.  We decided to wait until the next day to perform the funeral.

On Monday, after I got the boys off to school, Lidiyanna and I were in the boys' room cleaning up a bit.  Lidiyanna asked me, "What's Sammy doing?"  I looked in the tank expecting to see the body laying motionless on the tank's floor, but instead I saw Sammy's bright blue body swimming around with his little fins flickering in the water. I started laughing and quickly gave Sammy some food which he gobbled right up. Our little fish had not died but was in some type of lethargic state while the water was cold.  Once the water warmed, his energy and vitality returned.  I couldn't wait to tell the boys that Sammy was still alive and kicking (or should I say swimming?).

I was telling the story to Kimberly later that night and she was reminded of a song she had heard in which the lyrics were "everything sad will come untrue".  One day, Jesus will return and make all the sad things untrue.  What a beautiful picture little Sammy gave us of how God will one day turn our tears into laughter and our sorrow will be replaced with joy.

It made me think of another song by Matt Redman that says,

And I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
A glorious light beyond all compare
And there will be an end to these troubles but until that day comes
We'll live to know You here on the Earth
Yes, I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
And there will be an end to the troubles
But until that day comes
Still I will praise You, Still I will praise You

Oh, no You never let go
In every high and every low
O, no, You never let go 
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh, no You never let go Lord, you never let go of me