Summer!
Pools open up this weekend around our community. I suspect that there will be lots of excited kids ready for someone to take them to the pool and begin their summer vacation. My younger daughter Lydia is working as a lifeguard for the first time this year at a local pool. I suspect that means we’ll be visiting the pool more often. I’ve never been one to go to the pool. I was never a great swimmer when I was a kid and so I tended to sit on the sides rather than jump in the deep end. I swim much better now, but still I prefer to just float on a noodle in the lake than going to the pool.
When getting into the lake, I’ve found that I can ease myself in slowly so I don’t have to face the shock of the cool/cold water. I’ll ease in up to my knees. I’ll then work towards getting my waist in. It can take a while to get my chest and shoulders submerged and I almost never put my head under. Me getting into the lake is a lengthy time consuming process. Sometimes I never actually make it all the way in the water before others are done floating and are getting out.
I’m always amazed at the kids, even some adults at he pool, who can just jump right in or dive right in under the cold water. For them there is no warm up, no getting ready, no checking it out first, no splashing a bit of water upon their arms and legs. No, they just go for it and they jump right in the pool. Their heads, their whole bodies go under the water and they bounce up from under neath ready to go. I’ve watched those kids over the years with great envy. They’ve got something to teach me and so I’m going to try that at least once this summer. I’m just going to go for it and jump in the pool.
I’d encourage all of us to try that sometime, just jumping in. Maybe we should also try it in our life of faith sometime as well. Many of us are used to the slow entry approach when it comes to faith. We take our time, we ease into it a little bit at a time. Sometimes though I think we can learn something valuable if we just go for it and jump in head first. Maybe this summer would be a great time to try that at church. Just go for it and jump in. I don’t know exactly what that might mean for you. Maybe you’d plan to volunteer with a new group. Maybe you’d sign up to help with Vacation Bible School, join the crafters, go to a Sunday school class, show up on a Wednesday morning and help the lumberjacks. Maybe jumping in means you sign up and volunteer at the county fair, volunteer to work with our kids at one of their summer mission days, join in at MICAH serving the homeless on a Friday night, plan to go down to help with the Mobile Ministry in June, July or August. I don’t know what it would look like for you to jump in, but I hope you’ll think about it.
We can end up taking so long trying to ease into something that we never get all in. Sometimes we just have to go for it and jump. I’m going to jump sometime this summer at the pool. I hope you’ll plan to jump into ministry sometime this summer at Wright’s Chapel.