Jump!

Three of my grandchildren are taking swim lessons this summer.  For one particular child, this is not exactly what he would call fun.  In fact, they are something that he is extremely anxious about.  He is at the point in his classes where he has to jump off  a starting block and into the waiting deep waters below him.  Never mind that he is wearing a safety belt, the instructor is waiting below him, his sister has done it before him, and his mother is watching very closely.  He's afraid.  His only expectation is that the waters are deep and that he will sink to the bottom with no hope of being saved.  He has convinced himself that he is doomed.  As far as I know, he knows of no-one who has ever drowned.  He has never come close to drowning himself.  Never mind that after getting up enough courage to jump off five times without incident, he has lived to tell about it.  He still expects that the next time he jumps will be his last.  Forever.

It is easy enough for us to know that it will be alright.  His parents, sister, and swim instructor can all say encouraging things to him.  WE all know that he will love swimming and have many happy times with his friends at the pool when he becomes more comfortable.  The thing is that, really, he is the only one who can make the decision to let go and trust that he will be okay.  It's a hard choice!  It takes practice. Right now, he has more fear than the desire to let go and to trust.

While it easy for us to encourage him, I can't help but think that each of us have things in our lives that we're afraid of too.  Usually there is something in our past that makes us fearful of jumping into unknown waters.  While my grandson has clear blue water that he can see all the way to the bottom of, our waters appear to be much, MUCH more murky.  Just like him though, it is usually our own expectations that keep us from jumping in.  We're afraid to let go and jump too.  We have the tendency to look back to the safety of clinging to the side of the pool.  We forget that the first few times we clung to the wall where the water was over our heads, we were afraid then too. 

Even though my tendencies are to be a risk taker, there have been many times when I have been afraid to let go and jump into waters that I just knew we're over my head.  I have made myself physically ill at times with anxiety.  I want to cling to the side and not let go....even though I know that what I should be clinging to is the love of God.  He will always be there, unwilling to let me drown. I know that if I can stop looking back and stop my own false expectations from developing into a huge mountain of anxiety, I will be able to enjoy the deep end of the pool.  The water is so much more refreshing there than in the shallow end where the waters may be safe, but they have also been warmed too much with the heat of the day.  Staying in the place where I THINK I'm safe and in control isn't nearly as much fun. And really....I tend to forget that drowning can happen in the shallow end as easily as it can in the deep end.  I want to love life, and the people in my life,  more than I want to fear.

Sooo.....I encourage my grandson, myself, and you.......

              JUMP!!

The waters feel so good.

1 John 4:18  "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear; because fear hath torment...."

Gratitude for:

- My five grandchildren!

- A lazy, sleep in kind of morning.

- air conditioning!