Living in Florida, you learn to deal with the heat of summer. It is usually a damp, sticky hot that leaves you sweating and “broiled.” After family lunch yesterday, I jumped in the pool with Jax.

He gained confidence quickly. He was splashing and kicking his feet on the steps. Then, he would let me take him out with me in the deeper water. He would glide like Superman on top of the water. He starts a new batch of swim lessons today, so I thought I would flip him over and see if he remembers how to float. His face, namely his eyes, said it all. He didn’t like being on his back trying to float. He struggled and wriggled to find the right position. All the while, he kept trying to find his Pop. I even tried turning him so I was by his side and he struggled, wriggled and looked at me. His eyes said, “Why are you doing this? I like it when I can see you? This isn’t comfortable and I don’t want to stay like this. Please turn me back over where I am safe.” (Swim lessons will be fun today. I will not watch the video)

How many of us approach God like that? He draws us to Him and we love the new relationship and excitement of living with God. We get good at dwelling in the shallows. Then, we go deeper and gain more confidence as he takes us deeper and we see Him in this new world. But then, he “flips” us and we have to do things “on our own.” We struggle and wriggle in our thoughts, words and actions. We realize that we “cannot see God’s face.” Where is He? Does He know how much I don’t like this? Does He know that I am working as hard as I can? Does He know that I am drowning? I like the shallows so much more than the deep!

Today, we are all taking swim lessons. You don’t even have to put on your bathing suit. God is calling us to a step into the deep. Or in some cases, you are just going a little deeper than you were yesterday. Floating is finding that posture that allows you to “relax” and know that God with you. Finally, you always float facing toward the sky. That is where life is.