Over the Deep Blue SEA

Rubber orange arm floaties. They weren't the most chic accessory ever. The point may have been to keep toddlers from drowning, but perhaps I was a disproportionate three-year-old. To me they presented the unavoidable dilemma of restricting vital arm motions and encouraging me to face- plant into the chlorine rather than remain upright. I hated them and avoided them at all cost.

One slight problem. If I told you how old I was when I finally learned to swim, you'd laugh in my face. So I won't. But trust me, it was ridiculous. Going sans floatie was seriously living on the edge for a little kid. I had a secret weapon though. Dad.

The deep end, with it's enticingly azure water was so much more intriguing than the shallow end of the pool where I usually lingered near the steps and the stainless steel railing. Inch by inch I would step along until the little shelf where the floor began to drop farther away from the surface. It was over my head and my feet didn't like the feeling of losing the texture of cement below.

One day as I sat pool side, tiny feet dangling in the deep end, Dad said the iconic words "Jump in. I'll catch you."

"YES, please!" Was my first thought, but then something along the lines of "Heck, NO" quickly followed. I mean, what if he missed? I didn't know how long it would take before I drowned, but it had to be something like three seconds...that's quite a gamble.

Deliberation and fear eventually gave way to curiosity. I stepped back a few feet to get a good running start (which you should never do at a pool kids) and then I jumped. The wind rushed against my face and I was suspended in mid-air for what felt like ages. Then feet hit the water...and I didn't feel his hands. I was down, the water rushed over my head and the certainty that the end was near overwhelmed me like the force of the water. And then, I felt his hands. As quickly as I had gone under I was pulled back to the surface and into his arms. In the deep end of danger, I was safe.

And this, my friends, is how I feel about life. There is a deep end, and it beckons with the invitation to adventure. But far more importantly, the deep end offers the opportunity to experience the sufficiency of God to both call us to jump and to catch our full weight when decide to trust Him.

Today I leave for Southeast Asia. No, I'm not scared. What's to be scared of? This is another small opportunity to jump in the deep end and swim around. I'll be out and drying off again in two-ish weeks. This is just a swimming pool. One day, I'll be jumping in the ocean baby, and swimming out to be lost at sea.

And that's enough water-related metaphor for now. Ciao. Peace. Love.