Have you ever worked really hard at something and still came up empty?

After Jesus had risen, some of the disciples went back to fishing on the lake (John 21:1–14). They fished all night long but didn’t catch a single fish. As morning came, they saw someone standing on the shore. At first, they didn’t realize it was Jesus.

Jesus called out to them and told them to throw their net on the other side of the boat. It might have sounded strange, but they listened, and suddenly their net was so full of fish they could barely pull it in. When they finally counted them, there were 153 fish, so many that they could hardly believe it.

That’s when they realized it was Jesus. Peter was so excited that he jumped right into the water and swam to shore to be with him. When the others arrived, they found that Jesus had already prepared breakfast, with fish and bread waiting for them by the fire.

Even after everything that had happened, Jesus was still caring for them, providing for them, and spending time with them.

This story reminds us that Jesus is always with us, even when we don’t recognize him right away. When we feel tired, discouraged, or unsure, Jesus meets us where we are. He provides what we need, and he invites us to trust him, even when things don’t seem to be working.

What We Learned

• Jesus is with us, even when we don’t realize it
• We can trust Jesus, even when things don’t go as planned
• Jesus provides more than we expect
• We are never alone

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We loved seeing all of our wonderful kids this Sunday as we started working on something special for Mother’s Day. We hope to see you again this week!