The High Dive

After several weeks of cruddy weather, this past weekend finally reached temps that allowed us to head to the pool! We have been part of a small private pool for many summers, and the best way I can describe it would be identical to the pool in the movie “The Sandlot.” We enjoy soaking in the sun, throwing the football around, and floating in our cheap inflatables. However, the best part of our pool (no, it’s not Wendy Peffercorn) is the 10ft high dive!

It is rare nowadays with insurance and stipulations for a pool to have a high dive, but ours does! Throughout the years, I have watched each of my three kiddos go through many stages of comfort with the high dive:

1.         Frozen Fear: This includes staring at others jump off the high dive for HOURS and using self-talk like “How bad could it really be?”, “It’s really not that high…” and “Okay, that kid jumping is WAY younger than me!”.

2.         The Ladder: They have now worked up the confidence to wait in the long line, only to get halfway up the ladder, panic, and climb back down.

3.         Don’t Look Down: After hours of climbing up the ladder and then back down, they have reached the top. They stand with their toes on the board’s edge and inevitably look down. This is the make-or-break part. You can feel the energy in the pool begin to build. With a packed pool that was filled with shouting and laughter just moments ago, you can now only hear the slight sound of someone peeing in the pool! The chant starts very soft at first but begins to build as every voice in unison screams, “Jump, Jump, Jump.” And then….

4.         The Leap: With fists clenched and knees bent, they take one last deep breath and push off the board. The pool erupts with cheers as the first-time jumper descends and their feet hit the water. Immediately the cheers turn to muffled soundwaves as they reach the bottom of the pool…silence. They push back up towards the surface. As they break through, gasping for air, you hear the thunderous applause from the excited crowd!

Mission accomplished!

It’s been a long time since I have feared the high dive. As I watched kids and adults doing flips, cannon balls and dives into the pool, it hit me. Some circumstances in my life currently have me in the “frozen fear” stage. I don’t even want to entertain the idea that it might be time to unpack my feelings or deal with a relationship I need to mend, set boundaries around, or cut off. Getting to the “ladder” stage is daunting right now!

Where are you today? In your current season of life, what stage of the dive are you living in? I have been resting in Psalms 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.” Can we all agree that today we will make one healthy goal that gets us closer to the next stage? When those healthy goals become habits, we’ll soon find ourselves ready to jump right into the water without fear because we have seen the evidence of God repeatedly working in our lives. Take some time to be alone with God today. Just sit and listen. He will show up.

Sam

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