I think there is a part in all of us that wants to show off for our parents. Over the last several years, I have gotten into distance swimming as an exercise routine. I swim across a cove and back on the island every couple of days, roughly 0.7 mile. Nobody in my family had ever seen me swim it. None of us had ever been big swimmers until I stumbled into it. So, when Mom and Dad came to visit late last October, I drug them to the beach. (It was my day for swimming. I had gotten to the point that if I missed, I got antsy, but there was a big part of "Look at me, Mommy and Daddy!" in it.) I swam a longer route than usual, nearly 0.9 mile, and Mom and Dad were appropriately impressed. (No, they didn't give me a lollipop.)
Dad asked something regarding my concern about getting into trouble while swimming. I grinned and said, "I don't get into trouble in the water." His response was, "That's a dangerous attitude." I completely understand his point. Cockiness in dangerous situations is stupid and leads people into serious injury and death routinely. And, make no mistake, open water swimming has dangers. The Gulf of Mexico is not a big pool, as several tourists find out to their dismay each year. Even the intercoastal waterway, which is where I usually swim, has tidal currents, wind driven chop that can get dicey, and aquatic wildlife that can range from cute, to annoying to truly dangerous. Dad, however, had misunderstood my statement.
You see, people don't drown because they get out over their heads and can't swim back. People drown because they panic, then exhaust themselves flailing about, and then begin to despair. It is almost like giving up and allowing oneself to go under. Almost everyone can float. Stay calm, roll over on your back and float. While doing so, think. How are you going to get back? Then implement your plan, resting occasionally as needed. The key is to stay calm. I routinely go out a hundred yards or so on the days in between long swims and just practice being calm in the water. I practice several different drown-proofing techniques. I hang out in 8-10 feet of water for 45 minutes and learn to think of that as one of my natural environments. Which is why when, on two occasions, my left shoulder just decided it was done for the day, I didn't drown. I shrugged (one shouldered) and sidestroked to shore. You see? I don't get in trouble in the water, because no matter what happens, I can stay calm and handle it. Which kind of reminds me of Psalm 46.
1-3 "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah"
Do you ever feel like your world is falling apart? In either your personal life or as you look around and don't recognize the country you grew up in? Are there days you would be ready to swear that the earth is sliding into the sea? Stay calm, because God is your refuge and strength.
6-7 "The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; He utters his voice, the earth melts. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah"
I know there are times when it seems that everyone is against us. When standing for even the concept of truth, much less God's truth, seems to outrage the world. Stay calm and keep swimming, because the LORD of Hosts, who can melt the world with the sound of His voice, is with us.
Just like in open water swimming, panic and despair are what kills in our spiritual life. We start to think that we just can't handle the bullying and ridicule anymore. We just can't keep ourselves from the ever nearer and easier to achieve temptations of the world. We just aren't going to make it, as the waves crash over our heads. Stay calm. Breathe and know that you can make it, not because you are such a great swimmer, but because God is right there with you. He is your refuge, providing rest if you will just avail yourself of it. He is your strength, to keep you swimming. He is with you. Stay calm; rely on Him, keep swimming.
Ps. 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God."
Lucas Ward
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