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Swimming Waters

The area I live in is surrounded by natural springs.  These are beautiful, pure, natural, bubbling water, which is very cold!  Unfortunately, being raised a city girl, my swimming foundation is a concrete swimming pool, with nice, warm water. My husband was raised swimming in these springs and trained our boys to love them.  I, however was always a bit reluctant to get into the ice cold water, so I usually sit on the sidelines.

Recently our church had a family day at one of these springs. It was clear and beautiful and on this hot afternoon, I stepped off into the water, which was way too cold for me and promptly backed out!  As only a little boy can do, my youngest son asked me to jump off the platform into the springs with him....and since he insisted that we have never done this together and hinted that he would be forever scarred if I didn't do this with him...I agreed.  With butterflies in my stomach and the dreaded anticipation of every ounce of my body being plunged into ice cold, jarring water....side  by side we jumped!


As my body hit the water and plunged downward, it was cold, but also invigorating!!  As my head surfaced and I saw the smile of my son and heard the cheers of our friends, I was so glad I took the plunge.  As I swam, the water refreshed me and felt so good!  How pure and natural this water was kept going through my mind as I floated and stroked through the water.  Why had it taken me so long to appreciate God's gift of nature?

Do you ever feel as a Christian that you are 'standing on the banks'?  Knowing there is more, but scared to 'venture out'?  As we grow in our faith and Christian walk, we can relate to stepping in with our toes or perhaps wading in to our knees.  There will be challenges and fears as we grow in the Lord  but we can keep walking with Him.  Shoulder deep in water feels wonderful as most of the body is immersed in water.  Finally we take the plunge and go under, fully surrounded and supported by water.  Oh, how I love the feeling of swimming, completely free to move through the water.  As we completely give our lives to Christ - every area, He supports us, surrounds us and in Him, we live, move and have our being.

May we  never get stagnant or be satisfied by standing on the banks watching because of our fears.  As we walk in deeper waters, God will hold our hand and we will find that "He gives us life abundantly".  Will you wade out today?

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Comments

  1. Ashley MarieAugust 25, 2011 at 3:20 PM

    That sounds like so much fun! Aren't God's creations just amazing?

    ReplyDelete
  2. JenniferAugust 25, 2011 at 8:03 PM

    Great thoughts - as were your words yesterday "at the well"! You are so gifted with sharing your thoughts! Thanks for sharing - and glad you have that memory with your boy:)

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownAugust 26, 2011 at 9:00 PM

    I don't want to be satisfied with just standing on the banks, but instead jump in to all God has planned for me.

    ReplyDelete

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