Lessons from Swimming
This weekend my middle school "kids" had their first swim meet.
It is pretty hard to believe because nine weeks ago the majority of them couldn't even float. Now, nine weeks of practice...aka lessons later they can race freestyle and backstroke! The other strokes are still in the "learning" phase, but that will come with time.
For my kids, their first meet hosted by a team with national recognition both for their team and for their facility. This was an excellent opportunity to open the eyes of my kids to see what the sport holds. Never having competed, the three-to-four mornings a week that they practice is all they know about the sport. I however, failed to inform my kids that the measure of their success was not to be found in winning, but in seeing how far they have come. My goals for these guys were to get them all to finish their races legally, without disqualifications. Their goals and the goals of their parents were to "win".
There is a tremendous difference in ability between the kid that has just learned to swim and the same aged kid that has been swimming since before they could walk. We all got a glimpse of that. As a team we watched the first few events so I could explain the "way things work" and their eyes barely blinked. I was really worried this would discourage them...seeing how far they have to go to compete at the level they were viewing. But what I read as disappointment in their eyes, turned to excitement.
"Coach Jess, why is she breathing like that?"
"Well _____, that's what we were working on last week. See how it makes it smoother and she isn't as tired?"
"Coach Jess, can we learn to dive like that?"
"You want to learn that? Yes! Well we need to first master the basics of the dive so we can do that next, but if you want to know that and are willing to work hard, I will teach you."
"Cool, that looks legit."
"MmmmHmmm...it would be pretty cool to swim fast like that, huh? It takes hard work and lots of listening"
"So maybe I should try and come on Mondays?"
The questions and conversations that sparked were amazing. Sometimes when we see what we can be, we are encouraged to work a little harder knowing it is possible to get there. Or we begin to see the importance in the little steps that we are trying to perfect now. Every lesson is a building block to something bigger. This reminds me of Luke 16:10. He who is faithful with little will be faithful with much. The parable in Matthew 25:21 about the Sower also comes to mind. This has been something I've thought about for quite a while and have blogged on here somewhere about and yet it's something I continue to struggle with.
There are some things I know I need to do right now, and even how to go about doing them. However, there are others that are unfamiliar and I'm unsure of how to proceed. In both situations faithfulness is necessary. What good is it if I know what I ought to do and don't? If I know I need to practice more, and even that Monday morning affords the opportunity-then God asks for obedience (now I'm not talking about my swimmers! haha). This may mean practice or execution of small details that seem so minor. But then in those areas where we are unsure of what, how, and when these other areas of obedience become necessary- these small, seemingly unrelated steps bridge over to provide clarity for these big things of the future. But it won't work if we aren't faithful with the little first.
Goodness, I don't make any sense. At least I know what I mean...but it is hard and will take work.
So when my kids finished their events, even if they didn't place high enough to score points, they all swam legally and were encouraged by how they saw their peers from the other teams perform. Little steps of hard work pay off. Even when it's just little by little. I'm excited to work with them now that they know what their efforts are achieving for them. As a team we are beginning with the strong foundation. The rest will come with practice, patience and faithfulness in the little things.
It is pretty hard to believe because nine weeks ago the majority of them couldn't even float. Now, nine weeks of practice...aka lessons later they can race freestyle and backstroke! The other strokes are still in the "learning" phase, but that will come with time.
For my kids, their first meet hosted by a team with national recognition both for their team and for their facility. This was an excellent opportunity to open the eyes of my kids to see what the sport holds. Never having competed, the three-to-four mornings a week that they practice is all they know about the sport. I however, failed to inform my kids that the measure of their success was not to be found in winning, but in seeing how far they have come. My goals for these guys were to get them all to finish their races legally, without disqualifications. Their goals and the goals of their parents were to "win".
There is a tremendous difference in ability between the kid that has just learned to swim and the same aged kid that has been swimming since before they could walk. We all got a glimpse of that. As a team we watched the first few events so I could explain the "way things work" and their eyes barely blinked. I was really worried this would discourage them...seeing how far they have to go to compete at the level they were viewing. But what I read as disappointment in their eyes, turned to excitement.
"Coach Jess, why is she breathing like that?"
"Well _____, that's what we were working on last week. See how it makes it smoother and she isn't as tired?"
"Coach Jess, can we learn to dive like that?"
"You want to learn that? Yes! Well we need to first master the basics of the dive so we can do that next, but if you want to know that and are willing to work hard, I will teach you."
"Cool, that looks legit."
"MmmmHmmm...it would be pretty cool to swim fast like that, huh? It takes hard work and lots of listening"
"So maybe I should try and come on Mondays?"
The questions and conversations that sparked were amazing. Sometimes when we see what we can be, we are encouraged to work a little harder knowing it is possible to get there. Or we begin to see the importance in the little steps that we are trying to perfect now. Every lesson is a building block to something bigger. This reminds me of Luke 16:10. He who is faithful with little will be faithful with much. The parable in Matthew 25:21 about the Sower also comes to mind. This has been something I've thought about for quite a while and have blogged on here somewhere about and yet it's something I continue to struggle with.
There are some things I know I need to do right now, and even how to go about doing them. However, there are others that are unfamiliar and I'm unsure of how to proceed. In both situations faithfulness is necessary. What good is it if I know what I ought to do and don't? If I know I need to practice more, and even that Monday morning affords the opportunity-then God asks for obedience (now I'm not talking about my swimmers! haha). This may mean practice or execution of small details that seem so minor. But then in those areas where we are unsure of what, how, and when these other areas of obedience become necessary- these small, seemingly unrelated steps bridge over to provide clarity for these big things of the future. But it won't work if we aren't faithful with the little first.
Goodness, I don't make any sense. At least I know what I mean...but it is hard and will take work.
So when my kids finished their events, even if they didn't place high enough to score points, they all swam legally and were encouraged by how they saw their peers from the other teams perform. Little steps of hard work pay off. Even when it's just little by little. I'm excited to work with them now that they know what their efforts are achieving for them. As a team we are beginning with the strong foundation. The rest will come with practice, patience and faithfulness in the little things.
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