(Photo Credit: Tanja Shodler)
One of the things that I wanted to do while on the race was learn to swim. When I was a kid I was never taught how to swim. I definitely could get in a pool and attempt to swim only if I had the snorkel goggles. All I had to do was move my legs and arms and I could get where I needed to. Unfortunately, this type of swimming was not what I was going to experience when trying to swim in the ocean on the race. I bugged my teammates to help me learn to swim and they taught me how to tread water and how to place my hands while swimming. They did a really good job teaching me, but they could have never prepared me enough for what was ahead in Costa Rica.
Costa Rica was a blessing to me in so many ways, but I won’t get into that right now. I want to tell you about the waves that I encountered while trying to swim in Costa Rica. Depending at what time of day one would decide to go swim one would notice that the waves would be very little or extremely gigantic. Don’t think for one second I just went out into the water and attempt to swim in the big waves, because I didn’t. I had a lot of practice with the little waves. They would sometimes swallow me up and I would have difficulty swimming, but I always persevered through them.
The first time that I decided to go swimming during hide tide I was fearful. I knew the basics of swimming, but I wasn’t sure that I was quite ready for the big waves yet. However, I couldn’t allow myself to live in fear! I mean the worse that could happen was that I would go under and panic, but my team was close by and they would save me. That day the waves beat me up pretty bad. Wave after wave I was swallowed,pushed underneath the water and struggled to get back to the top of the water. There were so many times that I wanted to get out of the water and quit. I didn’t need to prove myself to anyone. So what if I wasn’t able to actually swim in high tide. The Lord spoke to me during that time. Brittine what if you quit every time just because something was to hard? What if you walked away from everything that you were afraid of? Where would you be then?
For me the waves resembled the troubles that we can sometimes encounter in life. Some struggles are definitely harder than others. Some waves can beat us up to the point of us having bruises and scars. However the waves aren’t always consistent. At some point the waves will cease and there will be a stillness. That is when we will receive God’s peace. God has taught me and is currently teaching me many things through my own personal life waves. He is teaching me what it means to trust Him IN ALL THINGS! Not just in the things I desire to give him, but everything! MY ENTIRE LIFE BELONGS TO HIM and I need to trust Him in it.
I know one thing to be true, if I didn’t decide to fight through a lot of situations in life I would have never been able to find Jesus. I would not be on a mission trip traveling the world sharing the love of Christ with people. I would be somewhere wallowing in self-pity and slowly but surely destroying my life. SO WHAT things sometimes are hard. What are you going to do? FIGHT or DROWN?
I leave you with this
Prayer Request: I hurt my knee 2 months back and it has been hurting for awhile. I should go get a MRI, but I am afraid to due to the cost and being in a foreign country. Pray that the Lord gives me wisdom and discernment on this situation. I love you all. Thanks for reading.
