Perhaps I am waxing nostalgic these days---but I am in a season of reflection. One of my MOST favorite activities in the summer for most of my life was summer time swimming.
One of my early memories is of swimming in the backyard pool we had as a child. I distinctly remember being thrown in the deep end the day I learned to swim. No swimming lessons--we learned by experience and many hours of heading to the edge to get a breath. If I had a penny for every hour I spent in the pool, by the pool, or thinking of the pool from childhood--well into my adult years, I would be a very rich woman. I LOVED the water.
One of my favorite memories is of that first plunge at the beginning of the season. It was followed by other first plunges on different days, but the initial shock of entering that water was --well SHOCKING! You knew before you ever launched the water was going to be cold. You had already tested it with your toe. The air temperature was hot--and you looked forward to being cooled off, BUT you also knew what was coming. No matter how much you prepared yourself that initial plunge still took your breath away. It was icy! Well in comparison to the atmosphere temperature it was icy. Remember it is in the 90's in May in Louisiana and those sweltering temperatures can hang around well into October. We are looking for relief where we can find it--and cool water was a sure bet.
After that initial plunge, the shock was over from the that head first dive into the quiet cool water. It would only get better from here on out and we had the sure knowledge from out first plunge of the season, we would survive and in fact thrive. We knew from here on out--it would only get better and we knew the relief that came each and every time we dared to take the plunge. It was well worth the initial shock to take the plunge.
So it is with the quiet cool water from God's well spring of love, truth, joy, and peace. We are sometimes leery of jumping in---diving into His will. We know the waters run deep, they will quench our thirst and refresh our spirits and we will be satisfied. Why are we leery of the surprise of the unknown. That is where faith and trust come in. Just as we know from experience through that first plunge into the pool it will take our breath away. We look forward to the relief and satisfaction which will come. So it is with the waters God provides--they will sustain us during the driest of times.
"But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him
will never be thirsty again.
The water that I will give him
will become in him a spring of water
welling up to eternal life."
John 4:14
Remember during the summer the blog will only post two times a week. If you are not already signed up to receive new blog notifications via email, please do so on the right side of the blog page. I am also taking a social media break this summer so there will be no Facebook notification of new blogs. I am thankful for each and every reader and pray you will also be able to rest during this season.
How lucky I was growing up to have a pool next door, and generous neighbors who allowed us to swim as long as a parent was with us. Many happy and joyous hours were spent there in the summers.
ReplyDeleteMay we bathe in God's healing, refreshing waters with even more enthusiasm.
Blessings, Lulu!
What a sweet memory, Martha! YES, God's refreshing waters!
DeleteBlessings!
i always find myself leaning into a fresh season of reflection. our souls too easily get parched and weary and we're prone to lose our way without it.
ReplyDeleteAmen, Linda!
DeleteBlessings!