Coming Up For Air

Some of my favorite childhood memories occurred at the local swimming pool.  A typical summer day for me included riding my bike two blocks to the pool, chasing girls, playing “king fish”, and gorging myself on five cent Twizzlers.  I would arrive back at home just in time to watch consecutive reruns of “Saved by the Bell.” Life was pretty grand.  

It wasn’t all fun and games at the pool though; there was plenty of competition. I competed on our local swim team, so I spent many early mornings swimming laps and training for weekend swim meets.   

I was an average swimmer, but I enjoyed the thrill of competition. What I didn’t enjoy was standing on the starting block in front of everyone wearing nothing but a small Speedo. To make matters worse, our team colors happened to be light green, which did little to conceal any signs of bladder failure due to pre-race jitters.

My favorite stroke growing up was the breast stroke. It came natural to me, and it was the only race I had any shot at winning. My least favorite was definitely the back stroke. The only thing more embarrassing than wearing a Speedo was the way I looked in the water trying to survive on my back.  It was pitiful.  It’s still quite a scene anytime I try it. My arms flail wildly and I kick desperately trying to keep my head above water. I always feel like the lifeguards lean forward and watch me closely as if they are going to have to rescue me in a moment’s notice.  It’s not exactly the picture of graciously gliding through the water with ease.

I was swimming a few laps recently when I sensed God begin to teach me about the correlation between life and the breast stroke. There is a rhythm and grace required for each. I put my head in the water and propelled myself forward before surfacing and breathing much needed air. Then I would do it again and again. My head looked like a bobber as I developed a pattern of working and breathing. In addition, my eyes shifted back and forth between seeing above water and beneath the water.  I was essentially able to pay attention to two different worlds simultaneously.

I think this is vitally important to the Christian life. God is a Spirit, and so we are called to pay attention to the spiritual world—to who He is and what He’s doing. At the same time, we’ve been placed in a natural world where God has given us important responsibilities.  I believe He wants us to settle into a rhythm—similar to the breast stroke--where we simultaneously pay attention to the spiritual and the natural. We are aware of the needs of our family, relationships, businesses, etc., but we’re also attentive to what God is doing and saying in each of those specific worlds. 

Eugene Peterson, author of the Message Bible, made a profound point as he described one of the roles of a pastor is to “pay attention and call attention to ‘what is going on right now’ between men and women, with one another and with God.” I believe this is true of all Christians, not just someone who holds the office of pastor.  We are to pay attention and call attention to what is happening with God and with people (spiritual and the natural), and our attention should pulse back and forth between the two in rhythmic fashion.

The mistake many people make (including myself) is when we exclusively pay attention to the natural at the expense of the spiritual. This is easy to do because our responsibilities call—quite loudly—for our attention (crying babies, diapers that need to be changed, project deadlines, budget constraints, relational challenges,  tests to be taken and papers to be written, etc.). It’s easy to focus so much on what is before us in the natural that we lose sight of the encouragement and strength God offers through the spiritual. In a sense, it’s like trying to swim the entire length of the pool without breathing. We may make it to the other side, but we’ll be exhausted, worn down, and out of breath when we finally arrive.

How rich our daily lives would become if we walked in a cadence where we were mutually aware of the spiritual and natural. God invites us to pause throughout the day, breathe in his life and strength, and continue on with our work. He desires for our attention to shift back and forth between what He’s doing and saying and the work He’s placed in front of us. The two are designed to be more closely related than we may think.

I sat with a friend this week and listened to him describe how he had recently been on the verge of burn out before God began speaking to him about the importance of Sabbath and rest.  My friend had been trying to swim multiple laps without breathing, and this lifestyle was taking its toll on him.

As he began to walk in obedience by resting more, God started giving him Divine ideas for his business. He looked across the table, and with a look of pure excitement in his eyes, he said, “It’s amazing how much more I have accomplished since I’ve started resting! God is directing me in my work!”  He was learning how to come up for air, and you could see the renewal in his countenance.  

This is important because we have not been called to just swim a single lap. Life is more of a long-distance ocean swim, so we must settle in for the long haul. The world needs what God has placed within you, so steward it well by finding the right rhythm and cadence for your life.

My prayer lately has been that God would help me find the right balance of working and resting, and that He would help me pay more attention to what He's doing on a daily basis.  I want to make breathing fresh air a high priority. This is something I must be committed to for my own sanity and well being.

Along with never wearing a light green Speedo again.