Swim Meet

Oh the memories that have swelled in my head as I have gone to a couple of Blake's swim meets. My mom was a swimming teacher at the Shamrock Hotel, and it was important to her that all of her children be good swimmers. That priority was passed down to me and all my kids too are all great swimmers, and I can't help but think that the time spent in swim team practices had to have helped. Now we are on to a new generation. The grandchildren. Blake is our first, at age five to be a swim team participant, and the meets have been fun and such a confidence builder, especially when he gets out of the water and receives his ribbon.

The categories are divided by age and stroke. They line up by lanes, the coach says, "swimmers on your mark," then the fog horn is blown and they are off. The competition is tallied up based only on the first heats of every stroke and every age group. Then there are heats to follow so that all swimmers have a chance to compete. The kids swim, having no real clue how the competition works, they are challenged only by who is swimming beside them in that particular race.

Blake has finished his races with some blue ribbons that he is quite proud of, and it has mattered now what heat he has been in. For the heats are not the point, it is the challenge of the race and the reward at the end that holds the gratification. He had a true following last Tuesday. Jamie and brother Sam, Jennifer and Molly (4 weeks), William (4) especially intent standing in his bathing suit at the starting point with hands on his hip evaluating every detail of the race, Catherine (3) screaming Blake cheers, and my Molly and me. We were all tickled to pieces to see Blake's hand touch the wall first....and get out of the pool to proudly accept his prize. For victory he had achieved, and we all got to witness it as we stood on the banks of the pool.

Now really how could I forgo this analogy. We are all racing in heats of different strokes and differing ages. Different strokes for different folks....is literally a life race that we all are engaged in. God knows the challenges that we face each day and what heats we are going to be competing in. He knows our strengths and our weaknesses and how we will place in our varied heats in comparison to our competitors. And he stands on our sidelines, each day, pulling for us to be victorious. There are times when we come out with a first place ribbon, and times when we come in dead last. But to God what matters is if we do our best and give our best in whatever race he has called us to participate in. There are always going to be others who are better or worse, and all we are called to do is to use the talents and gifts to the best of our abilities and trust that God will use them for his glory.

In one of the swim meets, there was a little girl swimming, her name was Ellie, who was not in Blake's age category, but a little older, and she was handicapped, and has been since birth, with a genetic disorder. But this did not stop her from confidently getting in that pool, and using her shortened arms, and kicking with those strong legs and making her way to the end of the lane. This child was the real winner of the whole meet in my eyes. She used what she had to the best of her ability and finished her race in confidence. It didn't matter what ribbon she received, what mattered is that she persevered and finished. She made a blatant statement without speaking a word, to a watching audience by what she accomplished with what she had. Wow! And she got out of the pool, accepted her ribbon and went about just as the other kids did. For she had done her best and she knew it...and a watching audience had to be in awe of her courage and her will to get out there and swim.

It is perseverance that speaks volumes of our lives. It is the training, and the pushes, and the overcoming of obstacles that make us strong. It is hanging in there when we want to quit and holding on when we want to let go. The life heats will always be before us, and there are some heats we will do great in and others where we will lose ground and barely make the finish line. But if we depend on God to give us the strength to carry on, the motivation to withstand adversity and the courage to stick with whatever it is that is before us, we will all be victorious in His eyes....and will surely give us stamina and hope for the next round.

We stand on the starting line of a race each day waiting for the coach to say "swimmers, on your mark" and blow that fog horn. Then it is our job to dive into that race that is before us and swim our very best to the finish line of that particular race. We are either in a race or watching a race, and whatever position we hold we are to be a reflection of God's presence in our lives. Be it through encouragement, perseverance, courage, strength, wisdom, grace or love. We are only called to do our best...and if we give God our best...it is then that we will be able to seek out HIS best. His best might show up in what we might consider a handicapped performance....but to HIM it is a performance reflecting HIS glory in the midst of adversity.

Hebrews 12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,

Life is the training ground that God uses to teach us how to be better at the strokes that we swim, and to build us up to be stronger and more able to compete in the heats that we face. Competition and competitors should keep us on our toes, and not discourage us. For just as they may be better at one thing, we might be better at another, one race, one lane at a time.

Dear Lord, What a blessing that you stand on our sidelines with your wisdom and encouragement. May we trust you in the races that are before us and give you the glory when we are able to persevere and complete a task that you have trained us for. Amen
Praise God wherever you are or whatever situation he has allowed you to be in and his glory will shine through.