Faith in the Deep End

Last weekend I took my daughter to the pool for the first time. It is hot here, but the pool was freshly filled and the water was cold. It was refreshing to me, but not so much to my daughter. She was at once fascinated with the way the sunlight played upon the water, and terrified of getting wet and cold. I tried to put her in a floatation device, but she immediately began screaming her head off. As soon as I picked her up and carried her across the pool, she was fine. She even enjoyed dipping her toes in the water.

It reminded me of our Christian walk. Sometimes we look at the pool of life and are terrified. And why not? To my daughter, even the shallowest part of the pool is deep enough to drown in. But to me, it is only a cool respite from the summer sun. When I placed her in the floatation device, she felt alone, and cold, and scared – but the truth is that she was just as safe as when I was holding her close.

This is a good reminder about our God. Sometimes the water seems cold and deep. Sometimes we feel alone and scared. But the truth is, we are just as safe, and God is just as near, as all the other times when God holds us close and we feel warm and comforted. And of course, we will never learn to swim if God is holding us all the time!

So have faith and courage, when life seems deep and cold. God is watching over you, and he will never let you drown.