My daughter and I love the water. I started her in swimming lessons earlier in the year because I’m a big believer in water safety and teaching kids to swim at an early age. My mom had done the same for me.
On a recent trip, a few months after her swimming classes had started, I noticed something. She was a lot more confident in the water, but I still needed to hold her. There were swimming strokes that I had been trying to teach her to no avail, but since she had started with one on one instructions, she had gotten much better.
On this particular trip, it occurred to me to get her a life jacket. This was a game charger for us. She had not been using a life jacket in her class, but learning the basics of each stroke.
Something significant happened. Where I previously spent most of the time holding her, she didn’t even want me near her. She wanted to be able to freely practice her swimming and going back and forth across the pool.
When we returned to her first session after our trip, I suggested to her teacher to allow her to try it. She did, and my daughter had such confidence – until she had to take it off and swim on her own.
What is your life jacket? Did you know you aren’t expected to do this life on your own without Christ as your life jacket?
When we have Christ in our storms with us, we can be confident that we will not sink. We can be confident that no matter what is going on around us, all we need to do is call on Jesus, and He will rescue us.
There was a song I sang as a child: with Christ in the vessel, I can smile at the storm.
I know that in practicality it is hard to smile in the storm, but I also know that when we choose to trust in Jesus no matter how bleak the situation looks, we can choose joy over fear and anxiety.
Will you choose Jesus as you life jacket too?
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you that you are in the storms with us offering hope, peace and joy. Help us to accept what you have freely given. Help us to accept you as our life jacket that will never leave us or fail us and so that we can walk forth in full assurance that you will save us.