Swimming and Second Chances

My son and daughter went swimming with their school the other day, but their swim was cut short by the lifeguards' whistle after one of the lifeguards found a 5-year old floating facedown in the pool. By the time the child was pulled out, this child was unconscious and turned blue. Although I wasn't at the pool, all who were there relayed that it was about the most horrifying experience they had been through in memory.

Miraculously, the child was resuscitated on the deck and taken to the hospital for observation and, at the time of writing this, it seems as though the child will be fine.

This experience has revealed to me a couple things about life. The first, and most basic, is just how quickly life can be turned around. In the grand scheme of life, what matters? People can make big issues out of little things but then it can take an experience like this to jolt us back to the stuff that really matters.

The other thing that I have thought about since this swimming experience is the translation from head knowledge to life-change. See, the lifeguards have gone through years of training just in case this very event should occur. However, due to the fact that none of them have ever experienced an emergency like this one, the movement from "What I should do" to "What I will do" is a big jump. I was not there so I cannot judge how the lifeguards responded, but I can only assume that every one of them is reflecting on that experience and thinking of what they should have done differently.

It's in those crucible moments where we see what difference, if any, there is in our lives. How many moments have we reflected upon and thought of things we could have (should have?) done differently? If I could only go back and do it all over again...

But there are no do-overs in life. We get one chance. And that realization can cripple us with regret or it can propel us toward change. Although there are no do-overs, there will be other crucible moments (different ones) and we work toward those ones.

Spiritually, if Jesus has made any difference at all in my life, it will show when the chips are down. Life in Jesus is supposed to be joyful, peaceful, and all sorts of good stuff like that. When I'm in one of those moments, the question is: is it all just theory and ideas; or has it really, truly made a difference in my life? Because the difference between theory and truth becomes apparent when we're in the crucible.