Wanderings Bonus for Oct 6, 2008

Greetings family and friends, I thought I'd share with you another learning I gathered from the office fishtank. if you recall, a few months ago I got a new algae eater that cleaned up the tank right away, causing the water to become clearer and the fish happier. Since the addition of this one algae eater, I have not had a single fish die, which had not been the case before. In fact, the fish have become bolder and two fish that used to hide now swim right out in front for all to see and the catfish has doubled in size. Well, last week I decided to buy a snail for the tank. In the past, every time I purchased a snail it died within 48 hours. The reasons was because the water was highly toxic due to overfeeding and an overgrowth of brown algae. Well, it has been a week and the snail is alive and well, crawling all over, and for fun, floats to the top to be bobbed through the water by the filter. So one lesson learned: it can take just one fish to change the whole lifecycle of the tank. But then I noticed the fishtank light wasn't so bright. I checked the lights: they were still working. I cleaned the glass. Still dark. Finally, one light did burn out. I went to the store and they had a deal on the lights, so I bought two and replaced both lights. Wow!!!!! What a major, major difference! I did not realize just how dim the light bulbs had grown until I put in the new ones. Now, not only is the tank clean but it is bright and shiny, and the fish's colors are popping like never before. The gravel is bluer, the plants greener, and the activity seems to be faster and more playful. I wonder how long the dim bulbs in the tank affected the personality/color/movement of the fish. And it reminds me of the song "This Little Light of Mine": do you recall the line "Hide it under a bushel? No! I'm gonna let it shine"? I wonder if we have been hiding our light under a bushel. Have our lights become a little dim and we have gotten used to it? How can we bring new light in? How can we change up our bulbs so everything can seem brighter/exciting/playful? And can you be the fish to do it? I hope all is well and you are safe and dry amidst all the rain. Joyfully, Pastor G