swimming lessons and life lessons

Swimming lessons.....the necessary education that many children must endure. This summer I enrolled Daniel in two weeks of swimming lessons, much to his dismay! Last summer we did parent/child classes at the YMCA and he LOVED it! He was the only child that wasn't crying during the daily 1/2 hour lesson. He's been in the water every summer. But this summer was going to be the first time that he would be in the water without me--and he did not like that thought one bit!

This past Thursday he completed his first week successfully. It was not without much coercion! There are five children in his class, aged 3-5. The first day he begged me to not make him do it. He hung on the side of the pool with a crumpled face, sobbing quietly. He kept looking at me with anguished eyes begging me to let him out. I admit, that I was sooooo nervous and part of me wanted to let him out of the pool so he could be safe with me! But I knew that he could do it, he would be safe, and that in light of the many recent drownings in Oklahoma, swimming is an important skill to learn.

By day 2, Daniel was telling me that he wasn't going to go and when we got to the pool he kept trying to run away.  I had to be firm and I told him that if he wasn't going to come into the pool area that I would get the teacher to come get him. That was enough to get him moving. He resisted getting into the pool, but when he finally did at least there were no more tears.

Wednesday and Thursday mornings were both filled with anxiety. daniel still felt afraid and didn't want to go. By Thursday morning, ALL the children except Daniel and one other boy were hysterical and trying to escape (is swimming really that horrible?)  Thankfully I had a few music students who were here on both mornings who encouraged Daniel that he could do it (and one of them actually had to put Daniel in the car!)

But here's the really neat thing and the reason why I am writing this: I believe the foundation for Daniel's strength and courage was God's Word. We had given him a memory verse, "Surely God is my salvation I will trust and not be afraid." When my mom took him on Wednesday she said she qouted that scripture all the way to the pool. When I took him on Thursday I also kept coaching him with that verse.

He was afraid and he didn't want to do it, but I saw courage in my little boy. In the water he cooperated with all that the teacher asked and he overcame his fear. He found that he could put his head underwater and jump in even though it tested his trust. While the other kids were screaming, Daniel remained calm and at one point I even heard him encouraging one of the other boys that "it was okay...see it's not so bad..."

We'll see what week 2 brings, but I'm certain that God's Word has helped him through this. I am definitely not writing this to brag on Daniel but to say that GOD'S WORD WORKS even for a four year old. And it's teaching me that it is the foundation that we all should build our lives upon!