On our way home from a job this morning, I was doing my usual gazing out the window and having my own private conversation with God, when we passed a local pool. Being before noon, it was a very familiar sight for me to see the rope floats stretched across the length of the pool marking off the individual swim lanes for the swim team practice that morning. As a young teenager my summers were spent getting up at 6:30am every weekday to be at swim practice by 7am, and swimming countless laps in the pool until around 9:30 or 10am. . . or until our coach felt we had put forth the effort he knew we were capable of. As I stared out the car window at this pool, memories of swim practices, and swim meets came to mind. I was constantly working hard to beat pool records for my age group everywhere we went, and usually succeeded. I was a fish! And I loved competitive swimming with a passion!
One particularly wonderful experience came to mind this morning as we passed that pool. I believe I was 13 or 14 years old spending the summer with my Dad in Chicago and swimming on the team there. We were in a swim meet against a team that we knew we probably would not beat as they were a Triple A team, and we were not. But we agreed to the meet on an off Saturday for both teams just to challenge us, and most likely to amuse them.
Surprisingly, the meet was a very close one throughout, and we were all shocked that we were doing so well against them, and also pushed to do our very best by the sheer closeness of the scores. The very last event would determine the winner and was the 13/14 girls Medley Relay. That is where you have 4 people from each team swimming a relay race that involves each of the four swim strokes. Usually the order was Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke, and Freestyle. The last swimmer doing freestyle is usually the strongest swimmer, and that was always my position. I was a fish I tell ya!
The race started and through each swimmers course the Triple A team gained more and more of an advantage. By the time my teammate hit the wall signaling me to take off, the other teams anchor was 3/4 of the way to the other side, and just had to flip-turn and come back to win. Diving in the water to race I knew we had lost, but was determined to close the gap on the distance between their swimmer and me. At least I wouldn't be swimming for what seemed like an eternity when the competition was well out of the water! I made it to the other side and flipped, taking advantage of my underwater time and dolphin kicking my way to almost the middle of the pool coming back. As I surfaced into my front crawl and took a breath, I heard loud cheering. With the next stroke I peeked up as I took a breath without losing my momentum, to see my whole team, coaches and parents at the end of my lane shouting and jumping and cheering me on. It confused me for a second until my next stroke when I saw under the water that I was actually neck and neck with this other swimmer!! I couldn't believe it! I was moving like a bullet in that water and leaving that girl. . . that triple A team girl. . . in the dust!
I flew past her to touch the wall and before I knew it I was being hoisted out of the water by my coaches and surrounded by my teammates cheering and hugging me and patting me on the back. What a day that was! I will never forget it!
And as I thought about that moment I smiled at how good it felt to have my whole team cheering me on as I raced to the finish line, and when the race was won, how we celebrated a great victory that by all standards we should not have won. . . I heard His still small voice. . ."I am cheering for you Andi, every day, with every challenge, in this race you are running for Me. I am at the finish line cheering you, encouraging you. . . and I am behind you, pushing you, strengthening you, giving you the ability to keep at it! I am there celebrating with you the victories! Hugging you, patting you on the back, letting you know 'I knew you could do it'! Your life is like that race Andi. And the victory is yours, and I am there cheering you on every step of the way! Keep swimming! Keep pushing! Keep moving forward! You've got this! WE've got this!"
What a wonderful, WONDERFUL God we serve!! He is cheering us on brothers and sisters!! He is rooting for us, and assuring us the victory!! He is strengthening us and giving us the ability, and then cheering us on until we reach that finish line!! Stay with it!! Don't give up!! It doesn't matter what the circumstances look like. . . you are destined to WIN!
Hebrews 12:1-2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.
