Swimming Lessons

Two months after the swimming pool in our neighborhood opened, I finally had a chance to visit a few weeks ago. While enjoying the pool, I learned a few lessons:

Go

Before this trip, I had not gone swimming for about 5 or 6 years (so long I could not even remember). When I went swimming in the past, I always had trouble breathing. So, in addition to not having a bathing suit, knowing that I could not breathe right was a major deterrent for swimming. But having finally found a decent suit, I found a time when I was the only person in the pool. So I went, thinking if I found myself incapable of swimming, I would only embarrass myself.

When I went down the pool, however, it felt so good! The water temperature was great, and better yet, the breathing problem I had worried about was non-existent. It had gone away as if it had never happened!

Relax

During my first tentative lap, I was so tight that by the time I finished, my muscles were sore. Then I sat down and remembered (!) that if I just relaxed my muscles, the water would help me float. I tried and, of course, the water did help. So instead of fighting against the water and depending on my own strength, it was so much better and enjoyable to let go of myself and let the water help carry me.

Know

Before going to the pool, for some reason I thought the pool was deep (I was thinking 12 feet). But when I went, I realized the deepest part of the pool was not even 5 feet. It was good to know that I most likely would not drown.

Practice

I swam for about 30 minutes, with each lap getting easier as I relaxed more. I still need to practice to swim longer and better, but it was a great (re)start!

In a way, swimming is so much like faith. In life, all kinds of worries and imaginative obstacles keep us from moving forward. But when we step out and dive in, we quickly learn that our worries are not grounded. After swimming, I did end up with a sore left arm, but it was only from a lack of swimming practice.

A couple of years ago, our pastor back in Florida shared a metaphor about faith and swimming: Christians have two choices, one is to stay in the kiddie pool, that is, on the sideline; the other is to jump into the real pool and swim freely in the ocean of faith.

I am ready to jump into the pool!