Perfect form

Photo by mali maeder, Pexel

I had perfect form, my instructors said when I was taking swimming lessons as a kid. We’d stand by the pool and practice our strokes. Usually quite uncoordinated and bad at sports, I loved hearing my teachers say I was doing so well when I bent my elbow and turned my head to breathe just as I should. And I also did excellent work pushing the “kick board”--a styrofoam floaty thing–across the pool as we practiced kicking.

But when it came to actually swimming, I failed. Several times. I just could not trust that the water would hold me up. I knew I would sink and panic and drown if I didn’t keep myself upright with my feet firmly planted on the ground.

Then, during one of our moves in the Air Force, we visited my mom’s sister and family in Connecticut and went to “the shore.” Standing in the waves there, 11 years old, and already a little tall for my age, I was embarrassed that these little kids were swimming around my knees like nobody’s business. Here I was, a big 11-year-old, and I couldn’t swim while these kids half my size and age were swimming all over the place without even thinking about it.

So, I walked out to where the water was shoulder high and began to psych myself out to “lay on top of the water.” I took deep breaths and talked myself into it, knowing that if I did sink, I could just stand up. Finally, I held my breath, jumped, and lay on the water as if I were getting onto a high bed. It worked! I didn’t sink. I practiced that perfect form with my arms and legs and swam. That move was from Anchorage, Alaska, to Key West, Florida, so it was perfect timing. I had a lot of fun swimming in Florida.

What does this have to do with the love of God, my subject for all these emails? I’ve heard many people, including Richard Rohr, one of my favorite theologians, say that it would probably be better to use the word “trust” rather than “faith” because the word faith is kind of losing its meaning. I didn’t trust the ocean water to hold me up. Til I tested it and it did. Then I could trust the water and even have fun in it.

We can trust God to love us. No matter what. No matter that he knows everything about us–the good stuff we try to show and the less good stuff we try to hide. God loves you. Trust me on that. ;) More importantly, trust him!