Swimming Laps

I joined the YMCA. They have lap time in the pool where members swim laps. Back and forth. Backstroke. Freestyle. Any style. With or without kickboards. Just laps.

As someone who hates running, I love the idea of swimming as exercise. That I could do. My sister and I get to the pool early Saturday morning and are immediately intimidated by the swimmers already there. They wore swim caps and goggles. Nobody used kickboards. They knew when and how to breathe while swimming. They didn’t stop in the middle to rest. One swimmer knew when to drink from her water bottle at the edge of the pool.

They were legit.

And we were not.

And we were scared.

We stayed in the smaller adjacent pool and casually did kicks and stretches. Then my lungs felt tight and I remembered that swimming triggered my asthma. I forgot my inhaler at home. Now I had a legit reason to stay away from lap time.

But staying away won’t do me any good. The legit swimmers only got to that point by swimming. By doing the laps, time after time, over and over again.

I’m still trying to find the sweet spot. The time when I can swim laps slowly using a kickboard, without making other swimmers wait their turn forever. Then one day, if I keep at it, I’ll be legit too. I might even use a swim cap and goggles.

Are you swimming laps?

I’ve been feeling like life is an endless lap time. I’ve been swimming the everyday trudge. The routine that only gets harder to go through even though I’m doing the same things – or because I’m doing the same things. While nothing seems to change. First school. Then work. Writing. Being single. Ministry. Back and forth. Over and over.

This is one of my frustrations. One of those prayers I want to record and play on loop because my voice is tired from talking to God about it.

Then He showed me that swimming laps is not fruitless. Like swimming actual laps in a pool, swimming laps in life is building foundation. It’s preparation. It’s getting ready for what’s to come.

Are you swimming laps?

It can be tiring. Everyday you wake up and do the same thing you did yesterday. Tomorrow will look like today. When once you relished the stability, now you scorn the mundane. Maybe you feel lost in the neatly laid out schedule. Your soul thirsts for more. Your spirit restless. You shake your head in the mirror, “This can’t be as good as it gets.”

It’s not. You’re building foundation. You’re preparing. You’re getting ready.

For what?!?

I don’t know. I ask God that, too (haha). There’s not always a clear answer. God might have given you a glimpse of a great big something coming to your life. Maybe it’s a God-sized dream. Maybe it’s a God-sized change.

Whatever it is, God is faithful. He’s like a kickboard. When we’re tired of swimming freestyle, we can hang onto to Him. He’ll keep us afloat while we keep swimming laps. Keep building foundations. Keep preparing. Keep getting ready.

Don’t give up. Keep swimming those laps and when the great big something comes, you’ll be more than ready to face it.

 

 

Linking up with Coffee For Your Heart, Wholehearted Wednesday, Word Filled Wednesday, and Winsome Wednesday.