Tag Archives: Swimming

Chapter-a-Day

Swimming, Speedos, and Spiritual Progress

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…let us throw off everything that hinders…and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.
Hebrews 12:1-2 (NIV)

I was a competitive swimmer growing up. I started around the age of eight and swam nearly year-round until after my freshman year in high school. Life’s road led me in different directions at that point. I hung up my Speedo.

Like all competitive racing, the difference between winning a swimming race and not even making it to the medal stand can be hundredths of a second. When you’re young you can shave entire seconds off your time with small improvements of technique and strength training. As you get older and faster the smallest of details take on greater and greater importance. Swimmers learn to eliminate anything that might “drag” you in the water. That’s the reason for ultra-tight lycra suits, slippery skull caps, and shaved heads (the reason shaving my head bald to play Daddy Warbucks wasn’t a huge deal for me is that I’d done it before, shaving my head bald for conference and district meets). If the race is between two equally competitive simmers, one guy in a Speedo and the other guy wearing cut-off jean shorts, the guy in the Speedo has a huge advantage.

That’s the word picture the author of Hebrews is getting at in this morning’s chapter. No matter where I am on my spiritual journey, I have to recognize that there are any number of things which can create drag on my spiritual progress:

  • Relationships with crazy makers who keep me in chaos
  • Compulsive and addictive behaviors that distract me and weigh me down
  • Misguided priorities that take up my time, energy, and resources chasing empty things down dead-end paths
  • Filling my life with objects rather than relationships
  • Keeping myself so busy that I have no time for personal reflection and contemplation

This morning I’m reminded that no matter where I am in this spiritual journey, whether striking out on the dusty trail as a spiritual seeker or climbing the sheer cliffs of spiritual maturity, there are always things that weigh me down and hinder my progress. I just read yesterday of an experienced rock climber who dropped his cell phone from a thousand feet up a sheer cliff wall. Only then did he realize how much of a distraction it had been to him. and how it freed him to be the unhindered mentor and guide he needed to be for his fellow climbers.

In the quiet this morning I’m thinking about the things that might be hindering my spiritual progress. I’m once again committing myself to the never-ending process of identifying and throwing off those things that I identify as weighing me down.

Don’t worry. I promise you’ll never have to see me in a Speedo 😉

Wayfarer's Journal

What I Did On Summer Vacation

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It’s July and Wendy and I are spending a little 4th of July vacation at the lake. We arrived late last Thursday night. The Mathias’ had spent their honeymoon here at the Playhouse, and then the Hops came in for a little family vacation. Thanks to both of them for taking such good care of the place. Wendy and I were so pleased to arrive and find everything so spic n’ span!

Wendy and I spent early Friday getting a little work done and preparing for an onslaught of fun. The JPs arrived late in the afternoon on Friday. We had a lot of fun in the sun with excursions to Bear Bottom and Bulldog’s. The Pella VLs arrived late on Monday night and we’ve had two days with the Playhouse rockin’ from the combined kinetic childhood energy. There’s been a lot of fun in the water from swimming, splashing, jumping, tubing, skiing, boating, and wave running. There’s been lots and lots and lots of intense sun with hot temperatures which has necessitated keeping cool drinks handy (I think we should just plant a lime tree).

It wouldn’t be the 4th of July without thinking of our personal firecracker, Taylor, who celebrates her birthday in Uganda today. She called early and we were able to Skype and catch up on all the festivities she and Clayton have planned for her big day of celebration in Africa.

Captain Ron’s will be shooting off fireworks tonight and we’ll anchor the boats in the cove off the dock to get a front row view. The JPs will head home tomorrow while the VLs will stick around for another day or two. It’s always fun when you get our three families together!

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Exodus 31

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Just breathe. "Yes, because in six days God made the Heavens and the Earth and on the seventh day he stopped and took a long, deep breath." Exodus 31:17 (MSG)

In my youth I was a competitive swimmer. While swimming in a race, the act of taking a breath slowed you down. If you could keep from breathing on every stroke you could shave precious seconds off of your time and it gave you a competitive edge. The key was to push yourself as long as possible and worry about breathing after the race.

In the "rat race" of life, we get sucked into a similar belief. We push ourselves day-by-day to get as much done as possible, filling our lives with a blur of motion. The idea of "sabbath" has become a forgotten concept. If we stop, even for a moment, we might miss out on something. We might lose our edge. We may not be competitive.

I love the way the Message translates the Sabbath as "a long, deep breath." How often do I feel choked by my schedule? God knows that my spirit requires "a long, deep breath" on a regular basis. The discipline of rest feeds my body, mind and soul with spiritual oxygen. Rest is a holy practice I, too often, ignore.

Creative Commons photo courtesy of Flickr and chucka_nc