Lessons from the High Dive, Part 2

When we arrived home from the pool after Joshua’s adventuresome outing on the high dive (see yesterday’s post), I attempted to replay the scene for my husband. I told him about the bolt of panic that struck me as I realized that the little body free falling into the deep water was OUR SON. And I confessed that I’d held my breath until Joshua’s brown head of hair had bobbed to the blue surface.  What I didn’t realize was that Hannah was sitting on the couch right around the corner, and she was listening to my every word.

“Mom,” my eavesdropping daughter asked later that evening, “When you saw Josh on the high dive did you know he was wearing a life jacket?”

“Yes,” I replied. “I put that life jacket on him when we first got to the pool.”

“So… you didn’t believe the life jacket worked?” Hannah asked, clearly confused.

“No,” I countered, “That’s the same one Josh always wears. It works.” 

Hannah was quiet for a moment.”That’s funny,” my middle child commented. “When you told Dad about Josh on the high dive, you didn’t ACT like you believed the life jacket would work.”

Am I guilty of approaching my life-Savior like I approached my son’s trusty tie-dye life jacket? Though I claimed to believe the flotation device would bouy my plunging child, the racing of my heart and holding of my breath suggested a falter in my faith. Likewise, if I claim to believe that Jesus’s all-consuming power can hold me up in any circumstance, but I quickly try to “fix” my situation when the waves of uncertainty rock my world, then do I REALLY believe that my Savior can handle my storms?  If I say that I believe Jesus is ENOUGH, yet cling to my wordly comforts and place my trust in tangible bulwarks- our bank account, my own gifting, my self-perceived good sense, then do I REALLY believe my Savior is all-sufficient?

I want to be a living verb. Like my crazy high diving boy, I want to plunge confidently into each new day and trust that if the waters get deep, my Savior will keep me afloat.

Today’s Overflow:  “When you go through the deep waters, I will be with you.  When you go through the rivers of difficuluty, you will not drown… for I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”  –Isaiah 43:2-3.