Get Some Air

I spent a lovely warm and sunny afternoon at the pool
trying to help my oldest son improve his swimming skills.
Over and over again I found myself saying,
"Get some air! Get some air!"

The difference between drowning and swimming is 

determined by only one thing

the success of getting enough air

down inside 

deep into the lungs

where it can be transported to the brain

and other important cells

to keep life flowing

growing

 living

without which

function slows and stops 

movement slows and stops

awareness and perspective slows and stops

life ebbs away to

darkness 

stillness

death

My son can swim successfully and independently 
as much as the air in one breath can take him
then the critical moment comes
can he get some air on his own?

one can only hold one's breath so long

then fresh air I must have

nothing else will do 

no substitute will suffice

At this point, form does not matter...
I don't really care how he does it
or what it looks like to anyone else...

Can he get some air 
down into his lungs 
where it makes 
a vital difference?

With air what would be an arena of sure and sudden demise

becomes a wonderfully cool and refreshing playground

a place where the heavy pull of gravity is overcome 

I do not feel my weight so firmly tied to the earth

the limits of what I can and cannot do broken

I can soar and fly

What a powerful metaphor for the Holy Spirit 
He is God with me
given only as a gift
but making all the vital difference
between life and death
floating and sinking beneath
swimming or drowning in life's waves

Knowing and even understanding all the laws of physics, bouyoncy, etc
will not necessarily enable me to swim across the deep end
although it is good and helpful info

Knowing and even understanding all the proper motions and dynamics of how to move one's body in proper format
will not necessarily enable me to swim 
although it is good and helpful info

If there is no air in my lungs 
that can be successfully absorbed and carried 
to every living cell to 
sustain life
then all is lost

I need you
I need you
without you, O God
I am lost

Drowning is not usually loud or dramatic
but silent
as one loses the ability to breathe
they also lose the ability to speak

one can drown while knowing how to swim
one can drown while life saving air is only a few inches away
one can drown in the midst of those who are having a wonderful time

one can drown within easy reach of another

whose lungs are full of life giving air

The motions of splashing, bobbing, wiggling underwater
look identical 
swimming and drowning
except for the look of panic in one's eyes
the water bending the rays of light
distorting
making it hard to see

 I need you
I need you
I need you anew
each new minute

I need you to bring home your truth to my heart
I need you to enable me to love
to serve
to care
to give
to be humble
to not faint
to not be envious
to not be embittered
to not become cynical

I need you to bring peace
contentment
joy
hope

When I feel the air in me diminishing and the panic rising
I want to grasp onto anything
people, things, desires
but you
are always there
waiting 

As I stand just within reach
watching if my son can
find a way to get air into his lungs,
I see how God the Father is standing
silent and near in my floundering
ready to reach out 
saying, "Get some air! Get some air!"

breathe out the old stale exhale of unusable air
casting all my care on you who care for me
breathe in your life giving Spirit
fresh, new, clean, what I need

and fly

12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Romans 12:1-2