I am happy to report that I survived my swimming two nights in a row as an initiation into what may hopefully become a once weekly routine for me and my husband…

Here are a few of my thoughts so far from our swims (honestly, my mind sometimes runs/swims non-stop as it did these past few days, but I’ve narrowed what I want to share to 3):

(1) Seeing clearly is worth the cost of NEW goggles.

One of the first things we did when we got to the pool was buy a pair of new goggles for my husband because he hasn’t owned a pair in ages.  He, unlike me, has perfect 20/20 vision and does not wear contacts, so he can get away with not wearing goggles.  However, swimming laps is still much better done with goggles, and since it’s not something out of reach financially for him, I encouraged him to grab a pair and helped him pick one at the Rec Center Counter.

He had asked if I wanted a pair, but since I already had one, I felt like I should just make do.

Once I started swimming, however, I realized that as this is the pair of goggles I’ve had since university, while it does an okay job protecting my contacts (I think?), it definitely did not have anything that felt like a tight seal around my eyes.  So, right away, it was difficult to “see” clearly, and with each lap, the lenses would become foggier, with some water seeping in.  I made do by taking time to empty and rinse them in between every couple laps, but each time I did, as they would begin to fog up again rather rapidly, I felt God reminding me that it could be time to pick out a new pair of goggles.

Reminded me a bit of the story where Jesus healed a blind man in two stages — after the first stage, the man who had been completely blind could “see” but his vision was blurry, so men looked like trees walking around.

Mark 8:23-25 (New International Version)

²³ He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”

 

²⁴ He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”

 

²⁵ Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.

I felt like God was saying to me, if this was the best I could have, He knows I would make do, and would be content, and even thankful that I have any goggles, and that I can afford to wear contact lenses…and that contact lenses (and glasses) even exist because otherwise I would technically be walking around virtually blind.

However, He can do better, and He has put it within my reach to be able to see clearly, and to not have to be worrying about water leaking into my goggles and possibly ruining my contact lenses every time I’m swimming, so that I can focus more on swimming my laps.

Somehow to me this wasn’t just about goggles and seeing in the water…but really just how He is bringing me into yet another new season of my life, and it is a season for being able to see even more clearly than before — to invest in and put on new lenses that are able to effectively create an airtight seal and keep unwanted water from seeping in to fog up my vision…

And so, on day two, I did decide to buy a new pair of goggles as well, same kind as my husband but the ones with pink on them =)

(2) Getting into “cold” water can be the hardest part for me — sometimes you gotta just jump in!

This isn’t a huge point, but just something that stuck with me because the feeling of not wanting to jump in was even stronger on the second day than the first.

But as with all things new, or all things that are uncomfortable because they are in some way “unnatural” to our normal state or status quo — just because something is good for us or even “fun” to do, it doesn’t necessarily make it easy to jump in and get started.

Once I jumped in and swam under water for a few seconds, of course, that initial shock of coldness and discomfort dissipates.  It always does…

(3) Why I prefer breaststroke over front crawl

Now, I’ve always known that I prefer breaststroke over front crawl, because (1) it’s the stroke I’m better at (I actually got on the news once in grade 6 for finishing way before my competitors at a swim meet — kinda by luck because that year I seemed to be the only one in my age group who understood how the gliding part worked), and (2) the rhythm and gliding of this stroke reflect to me what it’s like to move as one walking with God.

I realize that part of my bias may be based on the fact that I likely am not swimming the front crawl correctly, but I like swimming the breaststroke because the rhythm of it ensures breathing in a predictable, easily sustainable manner, with my head clearly up and out of the water in every stroke (whereas I struggle with the front crawl because I feel like breathing every stroke slows and tires me out, whereas only breathing every other stroke makes me feel like I’m sometimes gasping for air).  I feel like I could swim this stroke forever (well, clearly not forever, but for a very long time…) without feeling weary or worn, or burnt out.

In my walk with God, I feel like He is constantly reminding me of pacing myself, that He is not in a rush, He is never frantic, because there simply is no need to be.  There is a rhythm to life that exists when we are in step with the Spirit, and there is a rhythm to life that we actually were created to need in order to thrive and function/perform at our very best.  With God, there are no brownie points earned for constantly pushing ourselves to the breaking point of gasping for air — although He can recognize and appreciate our desire to please, He does not require such striving in order to be pleased…

I also really appreciate how the breaststroke works when learned and executed properly, because the payoff in movement seems so much greater than the energy exerted (compared to when I attempt front crawl…).  The secret is in the glide, in positioning my arms, hands, legs and feet in such a way that the resistance of the water is actually what ends up propelling me forward with much greater force and power than had I been exerting similar energy on land.

Now, I am no expert in swimming — the extent of my swim lessons and competing ended pretty much in grade 6, after that one big race.  So, I write these observations as a recreational swimmer — I’m sure there is much more to this stroke in order to swim it super fast.

Nevertheless, this is what swims through my mind and soul when I’m swimming the breaststroke, and why I find comfort and encouragement as it reminds me of what it often does (and should, when it doesn’t) feel like to live life in step with the presence, help, wisdom and support of a God who is both supernaturally powerful and unconditionally loving.