One of my biggest fears in life, besides failure, is drowning. When I was about 7 or 8, I went to the public pool with my brother on one of those dry, sweltering Colorado days. It was a perfect day to cool off & play outside.
I remember my older brother, Mat, teasing me and then going to swim with some of his friends. I was swimming by myself when I passed into deeper water. I could swim just not very well. I tried to get back to the shallow side but I just couldn't get my legs & arms to work together.
I was getting tired and my head started going under the water, just above my nose. I tried to cry out but I couldn't. I tried to swim but I couldn't move fast enough.
As my heart started to race, my chest tightened & panic set in. I closed my eyes, and realized I was about to drown & there was nothing I could do.
I was right in front of the lifeguard's station, a mere 6 feet below him. He was too busy scoping out a group of girls to notice I couldn't swim.
Suddenly, someone swooped in underneath me & swam between my legs. When I came out of the water, I was on Mat's shoulders. I took a nice gulp of fresh, hot air and thanked God for my brother.
Mat could barely touch the bottom of the pool and I knew he was going to be in the same boat as me if I didn't get off his shoulders soon.
He was able to launch me off his shoulders far enough that I landed back in the safety of the shallow half of the pool.
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| One of our favorite beach spots on the Island of Mozambique |
Mat & I never really talked about what happened that day until we were older. I can still remember how terrified I was, and my heart starts to race whenever I think about it. I don't know if he thinks about it, but I know he saved my life that day.
As I've grown up and grown in my faith, this story has so many parallels of what real life can be like. When I was extremely sick in March and April, thanks to an undiagnosed case of malaria, I felt like I was that same little girl in the pool, about to drown.
Once I started feeling better, I felt the same rush of life come back into me; I felt like God was launching me out of the deep end once again, just like Mat did so many years ago. But it's amazing how quickly I tend to foolishly fall back into the deep end by over doing everything.
I easily get overwhelmed these days. Having a 7 month (almost!) old baby who is growing & changing constantly plus caring for 5 other kids and overseeing our 3 staff members plus all the small projects we're trying to complete ON TOP of trying to be good parents and train all of our kids to know right from wrong, to value others, to love unconditionally and to work hard...I think even Superwoman would be overwhelmed.
I think as we head into this new season, with big things coming our way, we simply have to rely on the One who can sustain us. He’s the ultimate life raft and will never let us drown. We also have to remember in all of our duties and roles, the most important is to love & parent ALL of our kiddos. That’s it.
Even if the house is a disaster and things aren’t organized like my wanna-be-type-A personality would like it to be, I’ve realized it isn’t really that important. Sure, when things have a place it makes life a little more livable and a little less crazy, but honestly, it can be overwhelming to have to be and do it all.
I do, however, count it a blessing to feel overwhelmed – simply put, it means we are living our dream and we are exactly where we’ve hoped & prayed to be, for a very long time.
Will you do something for us this month – will you pray for us? We’re heading into some new, big territory and it feels good but scary all rolled together. We know prayer changes everything.
Hugs,
Phil, Laura and our growing family
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