One fish...two fish...guess where this is going?

The tiny red and white bobber disappeared under the water for a moment.

"Reel it in," I said.

My granddaughter, holding her little pink fishing pole, looked at me and started reeling.  With that, the hook got snagged. She pulled, the line snapped, and the bobber went flying our way.

I raised my hands, hoping to block potential damage to either one of us, as the line flew by and settled in the grass beside us.

We looked at each other and smiled.

"Let me see," I said.

She handed the little pink pole to me and looked up. Her big blue eyes were framed by dark eyelashes and wispy blonde bangs.

She looks so much like her mother at that age, I thought. I'm the grandmother, not the mom, right? Where'd the years go?

I studied the nylon line. We'd only lost the hook. Probably stuck in a lily pad.

I shifted my weight forward, hoping to retrieve the hook from a nearby plant. The bank was steep. And slippery.

I glanced back at my little granddaughter, sitting in the grass with her knees pulled up under her chin.  From here, I wasn't sure I'd be able to stop her if she tumbled.

Not worth it, I thought. Neither one of us needed to fall into the canal.

Besides, she's 2. She won't even know if there's a hook on the line or not.

I returned to her side and tossed the line back into the water, where the little red and white bobber bounced in the ripples.

The day was sunny, with clear blue skies and a cool breeze.  When I pointed out the green grasses growing in the canal, she surprised me, adding, "And the lily pads."  Yes, she was right. There were green lily pads.

After awhile, we set aside the fish pole and tossed our bait (bread) into the water.  "One, two," I said, "look over there...three, four..."  We counted big fish and little minnows.

Even as it was happening, I knew this was a moment I'd forever treasure.

It was sunshine and blue skies.  It was an instant, yet a lifetime. It was love then and love now.

In that minute, I remembered my own childhood...my own grandmother...my own experience as a mother.  It was an incredible heart squeeze. The love felt poignant. The love seemed endless.

Sitting on that bank, time stood still, and, yet, for an eternity, I glimpsed the perpetual love of God.

So much in one little instant.


But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.   2 Peter 3:8