God wishes for me to be prepared for my own protection…
When my second son was only five years old, we moved into our current home. It was in time for kindergarten to start. Though the home had a swimming pool in the backyard, we had not been looking for a home with a pool, and considered this more of a happy coincidence than a lucky addition – particularly because I was terrified of a child having an accident in the pool, considering our children and their cousins were so young…
Like so many young Australian children, my children had been in swimming lessons for many years prior to their fifth birthdays and so they were familiar with the water and the pool when we moved into the home. However, the water in the pool was relatively deep and because of this, it was easy for the children to become overwhelmed in the pool.
The children were coached through their use of the pool and given floaties and other devices and were closely supervised by their father and me while we were in the pool with them, so that we could make sure that they were safe. While the eldest and youngest child managed to gain confidence quickly, my second son spent a great deal of time screaming to be saved from the pool, despite being able to swim alone to the edge of the pool and hold on. This is because he was overwhelmed and afraid and being afraid was unaware of his own strength and unable to think logically and problem-solve his way to the edge of the pool to save himself.
Now, while this was annoying, there was a greater concern with this behaviour. Being panicked in the pool meant that my second son was in danger of drowning if ever he fell into the pool, by accident, or if ever his father or I was unable to reach him (for whatever reason) after he entered the water… And so, I decided – after some months of watching a complete lack of progress – I allow my son to make his own way to the edge of the pool (he could stand up on his tiptoes once he stopped panicking)…
And it was not easy for me as his mother to allow this to happen because I knew he was afraid. But this time, I explained that he would need to save himself once he was in the poll and this time when he screamed for help, I stood far enough away that I could catch him if required but that he could not cling onto me and use me to walk him to the edge of the pool. Luckily, he is a loud child, so I could tell – very clearly – that he was not drowning, because he certainly had enough air in his lungs to scream for help for over twenty minutes. But finally, he managed to get himself to the edge of the pool. And when he got himself out of the pool, he turned to me with anger in his eyes and said, “Why didn’t you help me? Did you want me to drown?” And I gave him a big hug and told him I was proud of him. And he has been swimming like a fish in that pool ever since.
And it occurs to me today that this is my God. Sometimes, He allows me to struggle in the pool and feel like I am drowning, because there are bigger and more dangerous challenges to come my way – challenges that I could not possibly imagine – and He wishes for me to be prepared for my own protection…
And I have been thinking about this today, as I remember the story of my second son and the swimming pool…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.