Don’t Miss Out on Living Your Life

My heart went out to the adorable little girl in the tiny swimsuit. She was all of three years old and she was not happy, not one bit. It appeared she had no plans to get happy, either—at least not during swimming lessons. She was crying when she arrived with her grandmother and she refused all consolation during the lesson. But, here’s the curious part. When it came time for her to get off the steps at the shallow end and take a turn with the teacher, the little swimmer stopped crying. She also took a breath, put her face in the water, and used her arms and legs exactly like she was instructed with nary a tear or sniffle! Considering her despair about the whole thing, I was surprised to see that she was quite capable. I was even more surprised at what happened next. I had assumed the tears were over. No, ma’am. That sweet child repeated that sequence throughout the thirty minute class. She would cry mournfully on the sideline, compose herself in the water, and resume crying as soon as she was returned to the steps.

As I watched the other swimmers around her giggling and splashing water, I thought about the striking lesson before me. Life is full of days we want no part of and circumstances we flat out dread. Sometimes, like our little swimmer, we can decide we’re unhappy, overworked, or mistreated and refuse to budge from that position. We can complain about what we’ve been through and dread what’s coming next so much so that we fail to enjoy our lives in and around the challenges. That’s a sad state of affairs for those living in rebellion against God; for believers to carry on so when Jesus has promised to be with us now and forever it is beyond tragic. Oh, that we would celebrate God’s past provision and protection and allow such memories of His faithfulness to fortify us against tomorrow’s tasks. Life is happening, now. Enjoy it.

Hugs,
Shellie