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I am happy to announce that my grandson Jackson is now able to swim!  It has taken a bit of effort to get him to accomplish this, since by nature he is a bit timid about the water, but it has now opened up a world of great fun for him this upcoming summer. 

For the past two summers we have tried very hard to accomplish getting him to swim, with little progress being made.  Between his natural fear, and the fact that we only can practice with him when the occasion presents itself, each time we would feel we were making advancements, he would then go home and by the time he came back and went in the pool, we practically had to start from scratch.  But this summer I will be watching Jackson each day while his parents work.  He  has developed quite a few good friendships with the children in my neighborhood, and I was becoming increasingly concerned that he would feel badly about himself if his friends were all swimming in our pool while  he was floating around with a pair of swimmers wrapped around his upper arms.  Worried about this for him,  I decided that this summer would be the time for him to accomplish this feat.

 

Last Tuesday was a beautiful day, and I asked Jackson if he wanted to swim.  Of course he said yes, but asked if I was going to get in the pool with him.  I didn’t feel like putting on my swimsuit, nor getting my hair wet, so I told him I would sit on the pool edge and play with him.  I didn’t put the floaties on his arms and allowed him to do what he does in that situation;  which is to do a small doggie paddle close to the sides, where he can grab onto the stones easily.  He kept trying to convince me to come in, and finally, in a show of great amusement, I allowed him to pull me in, clothes and all.  He laughed so heartily that it made soaking my hair, shorts, and tee-shirt well worth it.  We joked around and I held him as we swung about for a bit, and then I got an idea.  Knowing he is highly competitive, I asked if he knew how to just put his face in the water for a quick second.  ”Sure I can,” he responded.  ”Well then show me,” I challenged.  He held his nose, closed his eyes tightly and for just a split second, dunked his face in the water.  “Horray,” I said, cheering him on, but my mind was working in full gear to take advantage of this situation and his competitive nature.  So I came up with a small game.  “I bet I can stick my head in for three seconds, and you can’t,” I threw out to him.  “I can too,” Jackson shot back, and without even waiting for me to do it with him, he stuck his little head under the water.  Cheering him on, and feigning disbelief at his great effort, I kept adding to the clock, challenging him to put his face in for five seconds, then ten, allowing him to beat me by staying under longer than I could each time.  He was laughing so hard at beating out his old Grammie that it spurred him on to show me he was able to do more than I could.  Finally I said ”Look at you!  I bet you can’t stay down a whole 30 seconds.” “Oh yeah,” he countered, and counted to three as our heads went under.  I could see under the water and after about fifteen seconds I popped my head up, still counting loudly, so I was sure he could hear.  This little fish kept his head under for a full forty-two seconds, and it was then that I knew he was more than ready for the next challenge. 

 

“Jackson,” I began, “you have such strong lungs that I know you can swim easily,” I encouraged.  “If you can keep your head under water for almost a minute, you surely can swim anywhere in this pool,” I told him.  “I can’t, Grammie,” he responded.  “Sure you can,” I softly encouraged.  “If you held your breath and went under for so very long I know you can swim from the steps to me, because that would only take less than ten seconds.”  He thought about this for a minute and said, “okay, Grammie, but will you grab me if I start sinking?” ”Of course I will Jackson, you know that I would never, ever let you get hurt.  I’m right here, and I know you can do it,” I encouraged.  With a rally of cheering I stood a distance away from the steps and off he went, head under, and swam all the way to me.  I made a huge production of this and we did this over and over, each time stepping back just a little further, while counting how long he stayed under each time.  He was so proud of himself, because now he knew he could do it. 

 

Well, success surely breeds success, because next thing we tried was a cannonball off the edge of the pool.  A slight bit tentative at first, I reminded him that if he could keep his head under for almost a minute he could surely get his whole head wet for a second until it popped back up.  My encouragement gave him the strength and courage he needed to give it a try. He stood at the edge of the pool and I held his hand that very first time, until he was willing to do it without my hand. It was the most beautiful little cannonball I ever saw.  We laughed and played, me in my soaked clothing, and him with a great smile of self-satisfaction, for quite a long time; taking in all the joy of his newfound skills.  He was finally able to swim and had no need to feel badly when his friends came over to play in the pool, because he would now feel confident and on level with his little friends.

 

So now my role this summer has become camp director of the young children in the neighborhood. Yesterday three of his friends came over for the afternoon, and I sat playing lifeguard, and watched this group of four children jumping off the rocks into the pool, racing each other across the width of the pool, and playing  heartily in the water.  I thought back to last week, when this door of confidence had opened, and was reminded of how my gentle soothing words and encouragement had given him the ability to trust me enough to break free of his fears.  It had opened a whole new world for him, and I am so very happy that his summer will reflect the joy and play that this accomplishment offers.  In the process of  pondering on this, I began to think of my own life, and a strong connection was made in an area where I have been lacking. 

 

Since early March I have been taking care of my 85 year old mother-in-law, who we took in to live with us rather than putting her in a nursing home.  It has brought with it many challenges and stresses that I was not even aware of, and is certainly a full-time job.  She cannot walk well, and requires a walker for the short distances between her bedroom and the family room or kitchen, and has many issues that must be dealt with.  I have discussed this is previous writings, and although I am happy to do this, it certainly is very stressful and time-consuming.  Sadly, in my efforts to be there for my mother-in-law, I have not been taking the time I know I should to read my Bible.  I have excused this, saying I am doing the work of the Lord in helping Mom, so He certainly understands.  Yet as I sat watching these children, it suddenly dawned on me where so much of my stress was coming from.  I had forgotten to hear the voice of the Lord.  Sure I know the story, all He did for us, and all He promises; but knowing it is different from hearing His encouragement.  In the same manner that hearing my voice, soothing and encouraging at the same time, was able to give Jackson the strength and courage to overcome an obstacle in his life, I realized that I was missing out on hearing His voice, soothing and encouraging, that would help me in my day-to-day struggles I was now being faced with. 

 

Doing His will is not enough, and the Bible tells us this. It is not about works, so what I am doing for my mother-in-law not only isn’t a free pass, but my works can never feed my soul.   I had forgotten this, in my wholehearted willingness to be there for my mother-in-law.  The workload is great, and something had to give, so I had been putting my reading on a back burner, content that I was still working in the Lord through my actions.  Now I know why I wasn’t able to do my writing either.  I had attempted it over and over, and it just wasn’t coming together.  I was sad to meet with such frustration and inability to publish any new material, but had put it down to being too busy to concentrate, with all of the disruptions that come along in helping Mom.  That wasn’t that at all, and now I see it so clearly.  It is His Word;  His voice, that sustains us, that encourages us, and gives us strength to work with the struggles and stresses of daily life.  Though I know His Word, knowing it is different from hearing it.

 

In the same manner that Jackson was able to learn to swim in hearing my soothing voice, my encouragement, and being able to trust in me, I can break free and deal with the challenges in my own life only through His Word. Reading my Bible is not a requirement or chore given to us to fulfill.  Our Bible is His gif to us.  It is not for Him, it was given to us to sustain us and help us to grow in trust and faithfulness. His Word soothes and encourages.  His voice comforts and rebukes.  Having been taught that  He is with me is far different from hearing those soothing Words that tell me :

 Isaah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

  

Psalm 32:8 gives me strength when I feel I have no more strength, and yet I had forgotten His Words that tell me:
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.

 

I had been too busy to listen to His Word, believing that I could accomplish much is doing His will, but without His voice I forgot that Isaiah 58:11 tells me:
The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong, and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.

 

The Word of God is my shield. It allows me to stay on course, knowing that I am following His perfect plan for my life.  I find in His Word all the things I forget when I lose sight of what He has told me.  To trust.  To listen.  To follow.  I can only break free of the bondages of human suffering by rising through His instruction, and being reminded of it daily.  Without it, I am like Jackson was, floundering in waters that threaten to overwhelm me sometimes.  I might try buoying myself up with being ‘good’, or ‘faithful in works’, but unless I am hearing Him; soothing away my fears and helping me to follow the path He has set for me, I will never be able to ease my daily struggles.  In the same manner that Jackson was able to listen to my words and trust in me, when I listen to His Word, and trust in Him, I can then cut free of my worries or stress, able to open a world of opportunity, swimming freely in a pool that refreshes my soul, exercises my faith, and trusts in His voice that I choose to follow.