About 15 months ago, we went through one of those big life change things — ours, at that point, was a 'move'. With a 7 year stint in a small Texas town, we really didn't realize till the move date came around just how deep our roots had been put down. And, it was job related — good pay, new adventure, all that, but something we tried to consider prayerfully. We had/have dear friends there, and a small but active church life, and we weren't far from family. We had long discussions (my wife and I, and again with the kids) over the course of several weeks about what may or may not happen, and why we should or shouldn't move. We prayed to make the right decision. Well, I was reading C.S. Lewis in the months leading up to the move and found consolation in several things, but there's a quote that stuck with me through all the uncertainty and long after settling down after the move…to paraphrase: God invites us down to the water, and we ultimately splash and play and dip our toes in the surf, only to eventually return to the margins of dry land. What God really wants is for us to cast off for deeper water: to swim, to immerse ourselves totally in him and trust him. (Mere Christianity, I think? Do copyright laws warrant confessions?)
So, this little analogy kept sticking with me and keep surfacing in my head over some weeks (it's an attention disorder, I'm sure), and all the parts of the analogy were fairly plain — God, me, surf, yadda yadda yadda…until I thought: how did any of us learn to swim? It dawned on me that God doesn't really 'teach' us per se, although he wrote the manual. Just like our kids, there's usually somebody there, even if it's just watching good swimmers and trying to look like they look in the water. The piece I took the longest to recognize, the piece that was right in front of me was everyone else: my little west Texas church. They-my church- taught me how to swim. Priest, parishioners, everybody. There were people to watch that I knew were good swimmers. There were people to help, and encourage (including you-know-who), that weren't going to be very good unless they made a bigger effort, or got some help along the way. Just by allowing me to experience the highs and lows of their spiritual journey, lots of people inspired and encouraged me. And along the way, I got a little bit better (and yes, still have a long way to go).
Fast forward 15 months: the events of a month have revived a string of thoughts I had back before we moved. Yep, 1 month since we started The Group (save the tea chest, boss…). Some highs, some lows, but called to share them among fellow swimmers. Here's a group of parents with their children sharing the highs and lows of their journeys…sound familiar? I mean, okay, it's a little cozier and a little more encouraged than when I realized what I had back in Texas, but it's very, very much the same. What's better? Well, before, it was like the whole elementary was at the pool; now, it's kind of like just the 3rd grade has the deep end all to themselves. We have a few more things in common — so it helps us understand each other.
So, if you're waiting for God to reach up with an arm of water and pull you in, you might have a longer wait than you like…it just hasn't happened for me. My suggestion: Look around. Find your swimmin' buddy. Heck, find your group of buddies. Count to 3. Jump in! The water's great.
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