Throw your nets to the other side.

What in the world does a carpenter know about fishing? This question may have passed through Peter's thinking when he heard Jesus call out across the water.

An outsider can be a pain in the neck. Like the time I was struggling to uncouple a barbecue. A woman observing asked, "Brian, why not turn it the other way?" Two good reasons to ignore her: you ALWAYS turn a nut to the left to get it off and then... well, forgive my assumption that things mechanical are best handled by a male.

What's the issue? Trapped in the tactics of the moment, we work harder. Not unlike the English-speaking tourist in India, when seemingly unable to make himself understood, spoke louder.

It takes someone else to see what we don't. It's perspective. A coach can help. Asking another what they see that you don't is freeing. It helps me remember that I see only partially. Another's view will help broaden mine.

So after a frustrating moment of embarrassed failure, I followed her advice—and it worked.

Prayer—
Lord Jesus, carpenter, fisher, counsellor, when I'm fixated on one side of the boat, keep me from insisting to fish my way. Instead, shake my self-confidence enough so that I know that others can help me see what I don't. Amen.