ON a visit to a physiotherapist, an exercise she prescribed for a painful right shoulder was the putting of my left arms against my right. “Clasp both your palms together and push against each other.” She said, “Civil war,” I said as my left pushed my right. “Muscle,” she said, as I watched my angry right arm fighting to push my left. I wondered what my poor painful right arm was thinking at the moment.
“Here I am full of hurt and pain and instead of being given pity and sympathy, you push me down?” I told the physiotherapist about the imaginary battle going on between my arms and she laughed, then became serious, “Struggle builds muscle,” she said seriously. In the north-eastern United States, codfish are a big commercial business. There is a market for cod all over especially in sections farthest removed from the north east coast line. But the public demand posed a problem to the shippers. At first they froze the cod, but freezing took away much of the flavour.
So they experimented with shipping them alive in tanks of seawater, but that proved even worse, not only as it was more expensive, but the cod still lost its flavour and in addition became soft and mushy. The texture was seriously affected. Finally some creative person solved the problem in a most innovative manner. The codfish were placed in the tank of water along with their natural enemy – the catfish. From the time the cod left the East Coast until it arrived at its westernmost destination, those ordinary catfish chased the cod all over the tank.
And, you guessed it, when the cod arrived at the market, they were as fresh as when they were first caught. There was no loss of flavour nor was the texture affected. If anything they were better than before. Are you complaining about the catfish in your tank? “Please God,” you pray, “take away these problems and troubles that beset me from morn till dusk. Remove the mountain that looms huge in front of me, don’t have me climb it, just take it away!”
Each one of us is in a tank of particular and inescapable circumstances. It is painful enough to stay in the tank, but in addition to our situation there are God appointed ‘catfish’ to bring sufficient tension to keep us alive, alert, fresh and glowing. It’s all part of shaping your character, building your muscle. Understand why the catfish are in your tank.
Don’t ask for them to be removed, you will only end up weak and without flavour, soft and mushy, instead give thanks for the catfish in your life. “Clasp both your palms together and push against each other,” said my physiotherapist. “Civil war,” I’d said as my left pushed my right. “Muscle,” she’d replied, as I felt my right arm gaining strength..!
