Today is an amazing day. I see God's hand moving in my life, it feels like today is a birthday of sorts - like it's my birthday - but it's not.
Have you ever loved something so much - something that you had to give up for a time? In my life I discovered that I loved swimming. I loved it so much. With God's help and the guidance of a beloved friend - who is also a fitness mentor and Christian woman mentor, I started swimming after nearly 20+ something years of absence. I wasn't even sure if I could really swim, I was venturing into the unknown. As a young person I used to love to ride bikes miles away to the lake and then swim across the lake. I started swimming when I was six months old. But years had passed - nearly 20 or so years when I really barely touched the water for swimming - an occasional dip was all.
With the help of a beloved friend and mentor; she encouraged me, challenged me -- just swim... Get in the water and swim three times a week for 30 minutes. Rest at each end of the pool. I'll meet with you in a month and we'll work on your swim stroke. So I did... Wow was that hard!! I would rest at the end of the pool for MINUTES!!
I care about modesty and I really wasn't comfortable swimming next to men - especially wearing such a small amount of clothing... But I had three swimsuits on - and I wasn't a pretty sight. That's how I wanted it -- I wasn't anything good to look at, a bit mismatched, layering on the suits I found way to swim modestly. A one piece suit to take care of this issue - another one piece to cover that issue... And then a pair of swim shorts for some length and coverage. I was good.
I went into the sauna to pray and sing hymns while I stretched before I entered the water. It brings tears to my eyes now because swimming became a time for me to spend with God. While I worked out increasing my fitness ability, I was communing with God, singing, praying and trusting Him for the laps that would come.
...To be continued
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