Keep on Swimmin'

So to start this blog off with a bang, I'd like to share a little personal realization I've come to in my first week of the summer. I will probably be doing this often as I enjoy sharing my thoughts and hearing what others may have to say in response. I feel it is a great way to grow closer to God as a single follower and as the body of Christ. I hope that these kind of posts will help provoke thought, force you to dig deeper in your faith, and encourage you in your walk with Christ. So on that note, here goes my story......I was silently praying during worship the other night and felt as though God was really challenging me. There is always something about serving here in Mexico that helps you clear your head and see more clearly what God may want, which is always a great thing. But with every great thing comes a great challenge as well as a great opportunity. I began thinking of an analogy for my spiritual walk that started with a simple picture. I imagined myself swimming against the current in a wide and rampant river with a huge and roaring waterfall at my back. For a long time in my faith, I had been tearing through that river with the energy of a young child and the stride as large as that of Michael Phelps, but slowly my arms began to wear out. I know longer had the tenacity I once had felt. I began to just swim in place for awhile, not falling back towards the danger behind me, but not moving out of it either. My arms slowly began to tire more and more to the point that the river's current began to push me back. I felt the water splash in my face and in my eyes and began to choke as I lost hope for any forward progress. What I am describing in my spiritual walk is a sense of stagnation that slowly turns to apathy, confusion, and a bitterness towards faith. I felt as though I could no longer push forward and was forced to let the river carry me towards the danger that was rapidly approaching from behind me. I have been on the edge of that waterfall, gripping the jagged rock for a long time now, and am happy to say that God's timing is a beautiful thing. As I arrived in Mexico I began to feel renewed in my faith. I began feeling that God had restored that passion to be amongst his spirit and his followers. As I began to cry out on the edge of the waterfall, the body of Christ quickly jumped in from the edges to grab my tired arms and pull me forward. All I had to do was wake up to the fact that I wanted to keep swimming, that no matter how tired I get there is always revival in the spirit and that falling off the edge is not an option, or at least not a bright one. I am anxious to see what the river ahead holds, even throughout this summer, and even more anxious to share it with anyone who is willing to read. I hope that these words and everything else in this blog will serve as an inspiration to paddle hard against the current, keep your arms energized and moving, and propel you towards whatever it is your river holds ahead.