Swimming Lessons: A Window into Our Faith

Michael Kelley:

You put a child in the water and they cling to you. HARD. They cling with a violent intensity because they are convinced, in that moment, that their strength is really what’s keeping them from drowning.

But us daddy’s have a secret – it’s not their strength keeping the kids afloat. It’s ours. The reason they aren’t going to drown is because we won’t let them.

But then there’s the wonderful moment when they realize that my grip is stronger than theirs. You can almost see the freedom flicker into their eyes. They suddenly come to the understanding, in a child like way, that their perseverance – their safety – isn’t dependent on their ability to hold on. Their arms are child’s arms. They get tired. But my arms are far stronger. And even when they let go of me because of exhaustion, I’m not going to let them go.

See, I’m their father. And I love them.

I suspect the gospel is lurking there, too, during daddy swim lessons.

Read the rest.

Get Michael's new book, Wednesdays were Pretty Normal: A Boy, Cancer, And God.