Last week I wrote about my childhood and diving lessons. This week I was remembering when I first learned to swim. My Daddy often took us swimming when we were young. One of the first things he taught us was how to float. He told us to lie on top of the water. At first he would hold our backs, supporting us as we got used to the feeling. He would then gently let go, and we would float. Unlike learning to dive, I did great with floating. At least I did until I felt like I needed to see where I was going and raised my head. When I did that, I sank like a rock. Daddy explained that I had to keep looking up, because if I looked around I would sink.
As I look back on those moments, I find profound spiritual lessons for my life today. The only thing you must do to float is surrender to the water. It’s all about letting go–letting go of fear, tension, and control. Floating takes no effort, only trust. Sometimes I fight what life brings to me, when often there isn’t much I can really do about it anyway. How much easier it is to keep looking to God to solve life’s tough situations and just trust that His power will get us through whatever difficulty life brings our way.
Photo credit: Julie Escobar
