TODAY THE WORDS are JUMP IN THE DEEP END. With the hot weather here and more and more people, especially children enjoying the pool, my husband Greg gave me this idea for the blog. As we progress through the skill of learning to swim and to love the water; there are stages we go through and each can teach a life lesson. We are fortunate since our daughter in law is a swim instructor and I have learned a lot watching her work with our grandsons. As babies, when she gives the babies a bath, she pours water over their head and talks softly to them while she is getting them used to having water go in their eyes and down their faces. Once they are comfortable, she moves to the dunking their heads, laughing and making bath time fun. Most people start their kids in a kiddie pool but Teddie takes the children in the adult pool with her. She works with them in the shallow end and goes through a great process of teaching them to be comfortable, successfully complete certain feats, and learn to swim. Once they reach a level, they experience jumping in to her and then on their own. It is a process and it amazes me. Once they master jumping in the shallow end, they continue to move toward deeper water and will be jumping in the deep end. One thing I have observed is all of the boys have a unique style of swimming or jumping in and that brings me to the deeper thought….They, as we are taught about faith, have developed their own way of interpreting what they are taught. As in young people going to Sunday School and hearing the stories of Jonah in the whale’s belly; Daniel in the lion’s den; Noah and the flood with the animals. They may not understand all of what they hear. Children move through classes and studies similar as Teddie takes children through the phases of swimming. In church, through the children’s classes and plays, they learn and become more familiar and they move along in the pool of faith. Their faith grows. As young adults, they may be baptized and make commitments as they move to a more deeper faith as a young swimmer moves to the deeper end of the pool. It needs to be said we learn at different stages and ages so this process differs for each person. One day, if we keep going to the pool of faith, church; we want to jump in from the deep end maybe even off the diving board and we are ready to swim fully and freely in our faith. I thought this was such a good comparison of how our faith gets stronger and stronger as we practice and enjoy swimming in our faith. One final thought…As the children learn to trust Teddie; we have to learn to trust our Life and Soul Instructor, Our God. It is a beautiful day to go swimming in our faith and especially to jump in the deep love of God.
DAILY FEATURED BIBLE VERSE:
Isaiah 43:2 ESV
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
(c) copyright 2014 Arline Lott Miller. The material here copyrighted, use only by permission.
