Things Too Wonderful

My young daughter had her first experience of The Deep End this weekend.

Not that she hasn’t been swimming before: but the pool we regularly go to is one depth all the way across, so she can stand up.  This weekend she opted to join in my son’s ‘Stupid O’Clock’ (7am) Triathlon training in a different pool.  She set off quite happily doing a slightly wonky front crawl, but stopped abruptly halfway across and when the coach walked back to see what the problem was, she informed him in no uncertain terms: “That end’s deep.  I don’t go deep.”

Being an experienced coach, he assured her that this was fine.  She may have to complete all future triathlons in a garden pond but she could stay within her depth if she wished.  She spent most of the session swimming half lengths. 

Until near the end of the session, when the other children were diving for bricks in the deep end and having a great time.  My daughter splashed around in the shallows watching enviously until the coach wandered back to her and asked if she would like a go. 

Would she ever!  She started in the very shallow end, and brought the brick back easily. Would she like another go?  How about a bit further on? Slight hesitation but it was only a bit further… and a couple of meters at a time she worked her way across the pool, diving for the brick and bringing it up with pride shining on her beaming little face.  All the way across the coach kept asking her, “A bit deeper?  Just a bit deeper?”  and it wasn’t long before she was right down the deep end and diving two meters down for that brick.

Yes.  It was another Proud Mummy moment.

But God did point out to me, as we drove home, listening to a dive by dive commentary of her achievements, that He teaches us faith like that.  A bit at a time.  Challenges we can handle at first, then a bit further, a bit deeper.  A bit deeper still until suddenly we find ourselves out of our depth.  But we know we can do it (because we did it not so far back) so He takes us a bit deeper still.   And all the while our ‘coach’ is there at the side, shouting encouragement: “You can do it!  Bit further!  Well done!  And again” 

The challenges get tougher, the stakes get higher, His calls on our time and our obedience can get more difficult.   We think we have our doctrines sorted and He blows them apart.  We think an aspect of our character is dealt with… and we suddenly realise it’s not.  The bills get bigger - we need bigger faith. A bit further. A bit deeper.

We all want to go deeper.  It does mean getting out of our depth.  That’s the scary bit.

But I want that sort of faith where I’m out of my depth.  Where I have to rely on God, I have to pray and I have to choose to trust Him when He says I can do it.  It’s an uncomfortable place to be sometimes.  There are days when I want to get right back down to the shallow end and splash around a bit. But my faith isn’t going to grow there.  Why would it need to when my feet are firmly on the ground?  Here in the deep end it’s hard work and it’s tiring and there are times when I really don’t think I can keep my head above water.

But we just can’t develop a deep faith in shallow water.

As my daughter found out this weekend, there’s a far greater sense of achievement in the deep end.

And her triathlons are no longer restricted to the garden pond! 

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