The first summer I lifeguarded, I enjoyed it. I liked knowing that I was keeping the swimmers safe. And I only had to go in for one save that summer, so it was all good.
The next summer, I taught swimming lessons before the pool opened to the public in the afternoon for general swimming. Teaching swimming lessons was amazing! How much fun is it to take a child who won’t even put their face in the water and turn them into a fish!! On the last day of lessons, after only three weeks, teachers would take their swimmers to the deep end and let them jump off the diving board. When I was teaching the littlest swimmers, I was always treading water just below the board in order to catch them and get them started on their way to the side.
Some of those kids were tiny! What would possess them to climb up on the diving board, creep out to the end, and then jump into my arms?! After only three weeks of lessons?! They trusted me. They not only were willing to do what I asked; they believed I would keep them safe when they did it.
It’s no wonder Jesus said that we have to become like little children if we want to enter the kingdom of God! (Matthew 18:3) To obey - even when you’re scared - and to trust that God’s got you!! That’s the very definition of faith.
I was replaying that video in my head this morning - thinking about the faith of a little child, evaluating my faith. The scripture (1 Corinthians 13:12) popped into my head: we see through a glass darkly. We don’t know what’s coming. We don’t even fully understand what’s happening right now. We almost certainly don’t comprehend everything that has happened last week, last month, last year.
We don’t know why certain things have happened - health issues, relationship conflicts, natural disasters (called acts of God by the insurance companies), accidents, etc. We may find ourselves asking God why - not in the wrong way. We just want to know what it is that we’re supposed to be learning from whatever difficulty we’re walking through. It’s an expression of faith and trust - asking why - because it demonstrates
that we know God has allowed that circumstance to occur in our life.
But what if that’s not the best response? What if the best response is, “Thank You, Father, for loving me”? What if, like that scared little swimmer who creeps to the end of the diving board, we simply trust that God loves us enough to jump off into His waiting arms - trusting that He loves us enough to give us His very best, having the faith to believe that we don’t know what miracles He’s performing behind the scenes? What if the thing that we label Disaster is actually the event which draws us closer to Him? What if we are blessed to see God’s hand at work in our life because of where He has asked us to go?
It’s the craziest thing! Sometimes a child will be so afraid to climb up on the board. They have to have another teacher walk them out to the end of the board. I even had one little one who had to be lowered into the arms of her teacher, who was treading water below the board. Some of those kids are scared to death. But when they do it once, that’s all they want to do - over and over again. They get to the side of the pool, run to the diving board, and eagerly wait for their turn to go again.
Thinking of their enthusiasm brings tears to my eyes. What if, in addition, to being obedient and trusting God, what if we were jumping up and down in eager anticipation for whatever is next in God’s plan? It’s gonna be good - even if it doesn’t look good right now - because God loves us. He wants us in His kingdom with Him. And He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32) He’s already given us the most precious gift of all!!
So as the swimming lesson session of life winds down, how are you walking to the deep end and the diving board? Are you obedient? Are you trusting? Are you thankful? And are you joyful? Just something to think about.
The next summer, I taught swimming lessons before the pool opened to the public in the afternoon for general swimming. Teaching swimming lessons was amazing! How much fun is it to take a child who won’t even put their face in the water and turn them into a fish!! On the last day of lessons, after only three weeks, teachers would take their swimmers to the deep end and let them jump off the diving board. When I was teaching the littlest swimmers, I was always treading water just below the board in order to catch them and get them started on their way to the side.
Some of those kids were tiny! What would possess them to climb up on the diving board, creep out to the end, and then jump into my arms?! After only three weeks of lessons?! They trusted me. They not only were willing to do what I asked; they believed I would keep them safe when they did it.
It’s no wonder Jesus said that we have to become like little children if we want to enter the kingdom of God! (Matthew 18:3) To obey - even when you’re scared - and to trust that God’s got you!! That’s the very definition of faith.
I was replaying that video in my head this morning - thinking about the faith of a little child, evaluating my faith. The scripture (1 Corinthians 13:12) popped into my head: we see through a glass darkly. We don’t know what’s coming. We don’t even fully understand what’s happening right now. We almost certainly don’t comprehend everything that has happened last week, last month, last year.
We don’t know why certain things have happened - health issues, relationship conflicts, natural disasters (called acts of God by the insurance companies), accidents, etc. We may find ourselves asking God why - not in the wrong way. We just want to know what it is that we’re supposed to be learning from whatever difficulty we’re walking through. It’s an expression of faith and trust - asking why - because it demonstrates
that we know God has allowed that circumstance to occur in our life.
But what if that’s not the best response? What if the best response is, “Thank You, Father, for loving me”? What if, like that scared little swimmer who creeps to the end of the diving board, we simply trust that God loves us enough to jump off into His waiting arms - trusting that He loves us enough to give us His very best, having the faith to believe that we don’t know what miracles He’s performing behind the scenes? What if the thing that we label Disaster is actually the event which draws us closer to Him? What if we are blessed to see God’s hand at work in our life because of where He has asked us to go?
It’s the craziest thing! Sometimes a child will be so afraid to climb up on the board. They have to have another teacher walk them out to the end of the board. I even had one little one who had to be lowered into the arms of her teacher, who was treading water below the board. Some of those kids are scared to death. But when they do it once, that’s all they want to do - over and over again. They get to the side of the pool, run to the diving board, and eagerly wait for their turn to go again.
Thinking of their enthusiasm brings tears to my eyes. What if, in addition, to being obedient and trusting God, what if we were jumping up and down in eager anticipation for whatever is next in God’s plan? It’s gonna be good - even if it doesn’t look good right now - because God loves us. He wants us in His kingdom with Him. And He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32) He’s already given us the most precious gift of all!!
So as the swimming lesson session of life winds down, how are you walking to the deep end and the diving board? Are you obedient? Are you trusting? Are you thankful? And are you joyful? Just something to think about.
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