We're All Just Really Bad Swimmers

So tonight at dinner I was talking to my friend Kelly about everything stressful going on in my life. Right now I'm at a bit of a low point. I have classes to sign up for and after talking to my advisor I still don't know what I am doing, I just signed up to train to run a marathon in 15 weeks after school starts again, I don't know how I am doing in some of my classes, summer plans are more chaotic than ever, and I have spent over 5 hours working on general class level homework in the past two days. I literally feel like I'm drowning in stuff (So thats where that phrase comes from!). Well, as I talked more and more to Kelly, I started to draw a parallel of swimming to God. So, here goes...

(Disclaimer: This is my personal metaphor/parallel even though I use the word "we". I'm not saying everyone experiences the same thing. If you do then thats great. But this is more of my own personal "struggle" with God.)

All of our lives we are learning to swim (live) in this big ocean (life). God is the one who put us in this ocean, but none of know how to swim. But God, being God, isn't just gonna let us drown. No, no, no. He's there. He is like one of those red lifeguard floats. And we are usually taught from birth/Christianity, to grab onto that float if we don't want to drown. So as little kids we grab it. We hold onto God because we are told to. I don't think we really know what that float really is at that age, but we hold onto it anyway. As we grow older, we start to kick and try to swim on our own. (This is like a parallel that we start to venture away from God since we don't really know him on a personal level.) Then there comes a time when we think we can do it! We can swim without that float! We can live without God. WRONG! At first you can do it. You think "This is easy!". But then you start to drown. It's scary. But the float is always there. It is never out of arm's reach. As you begin to drown, you realize that swimming without the float is impossible, so you grab back on and vow never to leave the float again.

That could be the end of the story, but it's not. Once you get back on that float, you are happy. You realize that the ocean is much better when you are floating. After awhile though, you get distracted. That's like what's happening to me now. Life starts to throw a lot of stuff at your face and it begins to stress you out. Waves begin to hit you in the face. Some people hold on to the float harder... those are the really good people. But others, like me, begin to think of the float as a hassle. They begin to forget that the float is what's keeping them from not drowning. They focus too much on the waves and begin to let go of the float again. You may be able to get through some of the waves on your own, but there's always that one wave. It hits you hard... right in the face. You begin to drown again. And the only thing thats going to save you is that float... thats always right there next to you wether you see it or not.

So you see my parallel? When life is going good, it's so easy to begin to push God aside. When life begins to get stressful, it's so easy to push God aside. When something goes bad, it's so easy to push God aside. But without him, we are going to drown. He's always there for us even if we start to lose sight of him. He's just waiting for us to reach out and grab him again. He put us in this ocean knowing that we don't know how to swim without a float. But he's there to help us stay above water, and once we learn to never let go of that float, we begin to thrive. We're all just really bad swimmers without God:)

My cousin, Christine:)