Swimming lessons.

Remember when you were just learning how to swim? Dipping your feet into the pool, slowly wading in, clinging to the shallow end?  Maybe you had an instructor, a parent, or a few arm "floaties." Maybe you were scared, hesitant, not willing to leave your comfort zone. A lot of us had a mix of emotions similar to this. Now, if you successfully learned how to swim, you know that you had to overcome these fears; you had to take that risk of going into the deeper water. If we would have just stayed in the  shallow water, kept hanging out in the kiddie pool, refused to trust the one who was instructing us, then obviously there would be no gain. There would be no improvement, growth, or boost of self confidence. Luckily, I do know how to swim, and I'm glad I kicked my legs all the way into the deep end. You may be asking what in the world is the point of this posting, obviously this isn't a blog on the joys of swimming. What it is, however, is a blog reflecting my stance on faith, a faith that can be compared to swimming. When we first start out in our Christian walk, whether it was from the time we were little and always brought to church, or whether it came later in life, we start out in the "shallow end." Sure, being a new Christian yields a certain inner fire, but the level of knowledge and experience is still low...just like a little kid just getting into the pool. There's a lot of questions to be asked. Maybe the beginner swimmer asks how he should us his legs. In comparison, maybe the beginning Christian asks how to use their talents. In both situations, the starting line, so to speak, is exciting! You're so pumped to be learning such great things! Just as the new swimmer is scared to let go of the side, the new believer may be scared to let go of disapproving family. As you can see, there are a lot of comparisons and examples that can be applied to both this learning experiences. Now, in my walk, I am definitely not a beginner. I've shedded the "floaties" and have been submerged into the deep end many, many times. Just as a swimmer becomes tired, my faith has done the same. Instead of making waves in the pool, I've been content to just tread water calmly. Instead of looking for opportunities to grow, I have just remained in my comfort zone. While sitting in the morning service of Living Hope Church, Pastor John Bishop spoke about going deeper; deeper in faith, deeper in relationships, deeper in values. Of course, while sitting there with my parents, I felt as though that message was meant for me. It's funny how when a message you really need to hear, makes you feel almost called out! HA-HA! Anyways, from that great sermon, I walked away with a challenge. Rather than be content with just saying I'm a christian, throwing a few verses out every now and then, going to church sporadically...I would dive deep into my faith! 'Give me a diving board because I'm ready to do some Olympic caliber moves back into the pool of grace,' was my mentality. I was READY! As I made my way back home, settled in for the night, turned on Storage Wars, and fired up my laptop...I was thrown a curve ball. It was as through I strolled up to the plate, swinging the bat around, looking at my fans, feeling good, then received a crazy pitch and collected my unexpected strike one! An issue that I thought was put to rest, was brought back up again. A wound in which I never anticipated having to deal with, was opened up a little more. At that moment, I was presented with a choice. I could easily stuff back down that willingness to go deeper in faith, and just maintain the 'I got this on my own' attitude. On the other side of that, I could set aside every 'what if,' every doubt, and every fear and say 'Lord, I don't understand this, I don't know what to do, I don't know how deep this water is, but I know you're with me and that with YOUR strength, I can swim through this successfully.' Seems like an obvious choice right? Yeah, that is until you realize that the second one requires a ton of courage, and frankly, some hard work. There's a saying that states: "All you need is 20 seconds of insane courage."  The youth pastor of LHC spoke yesterday on the topic of going deeper as well. As he explained his new calling to the audience, I was in absolute awe of his courage. As a successful, happy, husband, father, and pastor, he felt as though God was calling him to plant a church in a totally different part of the state. With no building, preexisting congregation, limited contacts, and no house...he and his family drove to the city with their U-haul. As the story unfolded, his extremely bold, extremely courageous faith was clearly exhibited. He accepted the challenge to go deeper in faith. He literally had NOTHING lined up in the new city, yet trusted God with EVERYTHING. God's plan has since unfolded into things far greater than this family could have imagined. While no, this decision I had to make doesn't seem that hard, believe me, with the situation it's in regards to, it was. For me, those 20 seconds in my head required insane courage. At that moment, I decided to go for it. I shifted out of neutral and into drive at full force. I took a step into the deep end of the pool. I trusted the instructor. I trusted the lifeguard. I did it. This, for me, was the biggest turning point I've had in the recent months. I know that just as the fire of a new believer burns hot, then tends to fizzle out...my new found flames could do the same. When the deep part of the pool seems like too much, and I feel as though I'm drowning, I will remember one thing: MY lifeguard walks on water!

Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” ^{Matthew 14:25-26}