I was recently talking with an associate who kept referring to certain people as having “goldfish bowl mentality.” I didn’t quite know what it meant, although I assumed having “goldfish bowl mentality” wasn’t a positive attribute. However, I dare not ask her to explain what it meant because I didn’t want to suddenly fall into that category!
So instead of asking, I checked it out for myself. Supposedly, goldfish have horrible memory! To the point that they supposedly forget what they saw the last time they circled their fish bowl. Hence the expression, “He has a memory like a goldfish.” If goldfish have no memory, they have no working knowledge of the past and certainly no capability to plan for the future. Although I am clueless on how true that belief is, it does make for a thought provoking story line in the tale of “The Goldfish in the Bathtub. “
The tale goes something like this:
A woman decided to clean her goldfish bowl and transferred her pet goldfish into her large bathtub that was filled with a few inches of water. Assuming the goldfish would take advantage of this new found freedom and enjoy darting back and forth from one end of the tub to the next, the woman was quite amazed at what she saw when she returned for the fish. Instead of the goldfish eagerly lapping to and fro, the fish stayed in one corner of the tub, circling in an area no bigger than the space of the fishbowl!
Instead of enjoying the freedom the woman made available to the fish, the fish opted to stay in his familiar territory.
The tale captured me and provoked me to ponder. How many times do we stay in our familiar territory? How often do we stay in our comfort zone of what is predictable and familiar? Like the woman who made the entire tub available for the gold fish, our Heavenly Father opens up and makes available a world of opportunity beyond what we can imagine for ourselves. However, like the fish, we stay in our safe, comfy environment, circling, moving, and yet never arriving.
I wonder what kept ole Goldie from venturing into what must have looked like a vast sea to him, compared to his small miniscule fish bowl? We probably share a similar answer to that which keeps us from venturing out beyond our own comfort zones. What keeps us from moving forward with God’s best in our lives? What allows us to accept limits in life that keep us in our tiny and comfortable corner of the world, fearful to step beyond the imaginary boundaries where those sabotaging voices and self-defeating mindsets hold us hostage?
I love the story of Peter in the Bible. Peter and the other disciples were cruising along out at sea when out of nowhere, a storm interrupted their rest on the boat. Quite naturally, they were frightened. To add to their fright, Jesus appeared out of nowhere and walked toward them….on water! Jesus told them to not be afraid, that He was there. Peter needed confirmation, so he requested for Jesus to call out for him. After Jesus reached his hand out and called for Peter, Peter stepped out of the boat and walked on the water towards Jesus! Frightened by the storms’ wind and waves, Peter took his eyes off of Jesus and focused on the storm around him. As soon as he took his eyes off of Jesus and onto the storm, he began to sink.
Now, as I read that account, I smile about the many lessons and truths wrapped into this one story that is applicable to our everyday lives! However, my focus is on Peter’s initial faith. After Jesus caught him from sinking in the sea (and yes, He will catch us too when life’s storms get the best of us and we find ourselves sinking), He questioned Peter by asking, “You of little faith….why did you doubt?” --Matthew 14:31
And so this same question holds true to you-- YOU of little faith, why do YOU doubt?
Getting out of our comfort zone requires FAITH and looking beyond the obstacles of fear, intimidation, rejection, feelings of inadequacy, feelings of not being equipped, being told what you couldn’t do and hindrances that falsely appear to be the obvious. God wants us to “enlarge our territories.” But in order to do that, like Peter did, we have to move on faith, not our feelings.
We all want the walking on water experience, but how do we get there? Again, like Peter, we gotta first step out of the boat in order to walk on water.
So many times it is easy to stay “in the boat.” We know the boat. It is comfortable, predictable, safe and not intimidating. Although the boat may not be God’s best for us, we often resort there because like the goldfish, it is routine and we don’t have to operate outside of anything that may present itself as a challenge. We don’t have to include God when we stay on the boat because we work on our own strength and out of our own abilities, without depending on His grace. We also stay on the boat because we haven’t figured out the “How” of stepping out of it and walking on water. However, like Peter, he didn’t know the “How” part of how he would walk on water. He just knew that Jesus called him and that’s all that mattered.
Just like in our lives, if we are called to do something that Jesus has appointed us to do, if our vision is one that He has planned for us, we don’t have to spin our wheels trying to figure out all the details of “How.” Once we know the “What” and are prepared to go forth in faith, God will work out the “How” in our lives. We just have to step out of the boat, out of our comfy lil nests and just do it!
(Ok, I didn’t say step into uninformed, foolish choices with no prayer or due diligence!)
So back to where I started. After sitting still and really digesting this goldfish tale, it dawned on me that perhaps my associate really was talking about me! (Oh NO she didn’t! snap, snap! ) Whether she was or wasn’t, it was still enough to bring awareness to myself that I had indeed been like that goldfish. I too had been placed in a limitless land of boundless opportunity where greatness, prosperity and God’s best eagerly waited and anticipated my arrival. Yet, I stayed on the other side of that imaginary line. Because of doubt and fear, I chose to stay circling the confined and bound corners of a space I knew best that was comfortable for me, which in reality was no bigger than a fishbowl. I was circling fast, but going nowhere even faster.
Again, I ask, what keeps you in your comfort zone, not moving forth with God’s best?
How many of you are like that fish that has all the opportunity to make leaps and bounds in a vast sea of God’s best, but have chosen to stay in the corner of the tub circling behind that imaginary line? Perhaps it’s a career or business move, spiritual growth, going back to school, a personal decision, a parenting decision, relocation, letting go, a relationship, ministry work or just plain overall decisions that bring about a better quality of life! Whatever it is, which of you are ready to step out of the boat and move beyond your comfort zone, ditch the fishbowl and swim in the fullness and abundance of God’s infinite sea?
It’s time for YOU to enlarge YOUR territory and boldly claim your “walking on water” experience!
Happy swimming,
~Blessings…
CleRenda
