When she was a teenager, Cindy worked for her father. She and her sister and three other girls were hookers. Don't get excited now. They were paid to put a fishing hook and red flipper on a split ring, then attach it to fishing lure. She was often teased about her after school job, as well as about the job her father had. It wasn't until she was a freshman in college that she learned to say that her father was a fishing lure manufacturer instead of saying, "My dad makes the Swedish Pimple."
Cindy was proud of her father. Working as a salesman, Ed grew in relationship and business skills. Living near water, he had opportunities galore to fish. Early in the morning or late at night, he could be seen casting a line from his boat. He would fish until he caught enough fish for a meal. Perch and walleye were the best eating and abundant in the unpolluted waters at that time. He never realized his expertise and love for fishing would turn into a 45-year trade. Talking his two brothers and three of the Nyberg boys into investing in his dream to make a new fishing lure, he set up business in an old blacksmith shop off Main Street.
As a partner and business manager, he was not afraid to take risks. The Wall Street Journal became his business bible. He used his knowledge of fishing and manufacturing to create a worldwide lure known as the Swedish Pimple. Its success was due to the fact that Ed knew fish and knew how to successfully catch them. His commitment to making a good product was rewarded year after year, as the lure's popularity grew.
Growing profits enabled him to add another working area to his existing one. The hookers, machine operators, buffers, and platers were now under one roof. What about him? He had started off managing his business in an upstairs loft of his brother's appliance shop, moving over to the black smith shop sharing space with inventory, bubble packers, and, of course, his hookers. When he set up his own office space, it was in a small room in the back.
What had enabled his fishing lure manufacturing business to grow? Ed's love of fishing, his desire to satisfy customers, commitment to his product, and his ability to promote it, and a fire! That's right, I said a fire.
One night the furniture store two blocks away caught fire. As the flames jumped from building to building, Ed stood on top of the shop hosing its roof down. All he could see was his dream going up in smoke, and that's what happened. The old wooden structure, that had been the birth place of a dream, burned to the ground.
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him" (Romans 8:28). Ed had known God since he was young, and felt close to him in the outdoors, especially while fishing. This was his quiet time, a time to listen, a time to reflect. When he married, he faithfully worshiped with his family. He made sure his children received a good foundation in the faith. He knew God was present in the good times and in the difficult ones. He'd been in both, but he trusted God, learned to accept, and not resent. Yes, God works in all things for our good. From those ashes of that burned shop came another vision. A vision that came to reality. The Bay de Noc Lure Company would be well known for its quality and success throughout the nation. From the ashes of disappointment rose hope.
We also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us. - Romans 5:3-5a
Ed understood the certainty of that promise.
A man had spent a fruitless day fishing. He didn't want to go home empty handed. He decided to stop at a local fish market. "I'd like three good sized fish," he said to the clerk. "But before you wrap them, toss them to me, one by one."
The clerk looked puzzled at his request, "Sir? That's a strange thing to ask."
Smiling the man said, "This way I'll be able to truthfully tell my wife I caught them!"
Jesus had been preaching to a large crowd on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Needing more space, he noticed two empty boats at the water's edge. The owners were on the beach washing their nets. They recognized Jesus for they had heard his preaching and responded to his call to follow him. "Come, Peter and Andrew. Come, James and John. Leave your fishing business, and follow me. You will become fishers of men, helping others to find God." Jesus was calling these four fishermen from their productive trades to be productive spiritually. Jesus was calling them to fish for souls. That same call comes to us today. Like a fisherman who pulls fish into his boat with nets, we are to practice Christ's teachings and share the gospel with others, drawing those around us to him.
When we read about these two sets of brothers in the book of Matthew, we are told that Peter, Andrew, James, and John became Jesus' first disciples. When Jesus called them the first time, they knew what kind of man he was and were willing to follow him. So what happened between their first encounter and the second? Why do we see in Luke's gospel that they had gone back to fishing? It could have been because they trusted more in their own abilities to support themselves. In other words, to put fish on the table. After all, Jesus had been a carpenter but hadn't set up shop, and it seemed he was more concerned about feeding the soul rather than the body. They would understand much later that he was concerned about feeding both.
One day as Jesus and his twelve disciples were traveling around the area of the city called Bethsaida, crowds came out to hear him preach. Welcoming them, he spoke to them about the kingdom of God, confirming his words with miracles of healing.
The day was drawing to a close, and the twelve came to him and said, "Send the crowd away, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside, to lodge and get provisions; for we are here in a deserted place." But he said to them, "You give them something to eat." They said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish - unless we are to go and buy food for all these people." For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each." They did so and made them all sit down. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. And they all ate and were filled. What was left over was gathered up, twelve baskets of broken pieces. - Luke 9:12-17
When you hear this story, you would think that after all the miracles the disciples had seen performed up to this time, they would have had more trust in Jesus than they displayed here. But they aren't alone in that boat. We are with them. Do you think God would ask you to do something that you and he together couldn't handle? Don't let the ashes of the past cover you so completely that you give up hope.
When Peter met Jesus that first time, he was cautious in turning over control of everything, from his heart to his trade. He approached commitment very cautiously and so should we. As Jesus said, "No one starts to build a tower or goes to war without first counting the cost." With the second encounter, Jesus continued to reveal himself.
Luke tells us that Peter and his companions had been fishing all night and had come back to shore empty handed. Fishing was not a hobby for them, it was their livelihood, and it was serious business. They were tired, frustrated, disappointed, and discouraged, like a salesman who has gone for days without a sale. Like a lawyer who cannot attract clients or like a qualified college graduate who cannot get a teaching job, the negative feelings run deep. When doors seem shut, know God can open them if we have faith, even if it's only the size of a mustard seed.
When Peter responded to Jesus' request to take his boat out into deeper waters and let down his nets, he shook his head with doubt. A carpenter they had known for only a short time was suggesting to these professional fishermen that they go back out, and they did it. They obeyed, and their obedience brought a reward beyond their wildest dreams. Their nets almost broke with the amount of fish taken; the boat almost sank. Did Peter jump up and down with excitement? "Halleluiah! Praise God! Wow!" Peter was awestruck at this miracle, but then he felt his own insignificance in comparison to this man's greatness. He responded, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man" (Luke 5:8b).
This miracle of the fish was not the first Jesus had performed. Jesus drove out demons and healed the sick, even Peter's mother-in-law. But this one amazed Peter for it showed that Jesus cared about his day-to-day routine and understood his needs. This should not surprise us for our God is not only interested in saving us, but also in helping us in our daily activities. When Jesus came to call the second time, he met the fishermen on their level and helped them in their work. The result? They didn't look back but left their nets and remained with Jesus until his death. We must do the same. Leave the ashes of our past behind and commit our future to Christ. How rewarding that will be.
When Ed sold his partnership in the Pimple Shop, as it was affectionately dubbed by the town's people, he had almost approached his dream of making it a million-dollar business. He did not retire with mega bucks, and the money he did receive went to making the last years of his wife's life comfortable and memorable. Having been told she'd have six weeks to three months to live because of her cancer, she put her life in God's hands, knowing that he took all things and used them for his glory. God didn't select Marge to develop ovarian cancer, but he used that sickness as a witness of his personal concern for his children. Marge and Ed enjoyed six more years together. On the first Sunday after Easter, with the church cross adorned with Easter lilies, her life was celebrated with her death. "From dust we came, and to dust we will return."
I would like to share the words of a song written by a woman named Carmen. Carmen happens to be the Swedish Pimple maker's niece. It was Harold, her father and Ed's brother, who he partnered with in dreaming a dream. As Ed knew out of ashes came more, so Carmen knew it, too. Even though she suffered from a hereditary disease, retinitis pigmentosis, she was outstanding in high school forensics. At times though, judges deducted points for memorizing a speech, but hey! She used her special gifts to excel. She fell in love with a man named Stephen. Their story has been told in an award-winning documentary, White Cane and Wheels, which appeared on a premium cable channel. It was directed by her nephew, Paul. It was a reality film of two people rising out of the ashes of difficulty.1
Stephen was afflicted with muscular dystrophy. Carmen kept the commitment made to Stephen in marriage, caring for him daily in the good days and in the downers. "For better for worse, in sickness and in health." After his morning routine, Carmen left for work at the Braille Institute for the Blind in Los Angeles, a direct service organization for the blind and visually impaired. She also served as a technical advisor for actors playing blind characters in movies and television.
After the tragedies of September 11, like the rest of the country, Carmen felt angry and lost. Her feelings of sadness and depression soon gave way to her drive to do something. She had to find a way to express what she was feeling at the time. That is how her song, "Ashes In The Wind" came about. It was a catharsis for her to be able to express her feelings through music. The words came to her - a mixture of hope and despair. Her spiritual advisor, Bonnie, enabled her to express her feelings about this event as well as the feelings about her life. Hear her words from "Ashes In The Wind."
'Tis a simple thing to want to cry each day
'Tis a simple thing to want to touch someone
'Tis a simple thing to let the anger sway
When the ashes, when the ashes are in the wind.
'Tis a simple wish to sit alone and pray
'Tis a simple wish to want to phone someone
'Tis a simple wish to need to hide away
When the ashes, when the ashes are in the wind.
The eagle flies above us
As the sun goes down each day
In the crumbled steel and concrete
Other voices flow away.
Can we move that mountain tower
'Til the land is sweet again
While the ashes, while the ashes are in the wind?
While the ashes, while the ashes are in the wind?
'Tis a simple hope to want to heal the pain
'Tis a simple hope to want to find someone
'Tis a simple fear that life won't be the same
When the ashes, when the ashes are in the wind.
Oh, the eagle flies above us
As the sun goes down each day
In the crumbled steel and concrete
Other voices flow away.
Can we move that mountain tower
'Til the land is sweet again
While the ashes, while the ashes are in the wind?
While the ashes, while the ashes are in the wind?
Oh, the eagle flies, the eagle flies,
Oh, the eagle flies.2
From the ashes of fire (Ed), from the ashes of shame (Peter), from the ashes of tragedy (Carmen), and from the ashes of your lives, comes new life. Jesus says, "Come, come let me heal the pain. Come, come life won't be the same. Come, come the eagle flies again, while the ashes, while the ashes are in the wind." Amen.
1. White Cane and Wheels, directed by Paul Apelgren, University of Southern California. Award winning documentary; Cinemax 2004.
2. "Ashes In The Wind," vocals, words, and music by Carmen Apelgren, recorded at QP Sound, North Hollywood 2001. Used by permission.