But Do You Want to Live that Way?



This past week my dad, Betsy, and I had a lot of work. Some of our jobs being quiet difficult and the tight schedule caused us to have to work late a few nights. By Thursday afternoon I felt like it was Friday. I found my tired thoughts daydreaming about Saturday morning when I could sleep in. On Friday morning I drug myself out of bed feeling like a drowning lap swimmer. I thought, If I can just make it through.
Now I don’t know how many of you out there are swimmers, and I won’t say I’m much of one. But as a means of exercise I did have my “lap swimming” phase. Well one morning I went to the pool and all of the lap lanes were full. So I started doing some walking water aerobics in the kiddy pool. After a short time, the lifeguard came over and offered to open up the diving well for me, so that I could swim my laps. I thanked him and went down to that part of the pool. Now my typical routine was, swim a couple laps, walk a couple laps. This was not to be done in the diving well. “Hey? Where did that lady go? Oh she’s just walking a couple laps 10 ft down!”
Well I certainly didn’t want to look like an out of shape wimp! So on that day I became a lap swimmer. I’d swim a few laps then hang on the edge and make every attempt to not look like I was dying! It was here that I learned what a drowning lap swimmer felt like! I would be swimming back from the rope and as I struggled to stay up I’d lift my head hoping I would see the edge of the pool.
If I can just make it through. That thought had barely passed through my mind on Friday morning when a question followed. But do you want to live that way? On Friday I could have gotten away with it, but what about someday? What about the day when you lift your head and there is no edge of the pool insight?
My immediate answer was No! I don’t want to live that way! Just making it through! I wasn’t bouncing around with energy on Friday, but I lived every moment. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13 (That one’s not just for kids you know.)
This got me to thinking though, how often do I just make it through without realizing I’ve made that decision. If I could just make it through this day, this season, this year then…
If I never live today, then in the end, I’ll have never lived at all.


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