Swimming Theology

After a number of years of homeschooling, I’ve come to a bit of an epiphany. I’ve played all kinds of sports through the years, and I’ve always encouraged my children to participate in and learn as many different sports as they could. The one “sport” that I was hesitant about was swimming. It was their participation in swimming that led me to realize a connection to a concept in theology that I’ve never experienced.

Everyone could agree that learning how to swim is a skill that all kids should have. I’ve always considered the ability to swim a rite of passage in the lives of children, somewhat like riding a bike.
I’ve never expected anyone to be a competitive or an Olympic-level swimmer. You just need to know how, be able to stay afloat, and be comfortable in the water. That was my main goal when I enrolled my kids on the local summer swim team. How little did I know!

Long Days and Small Victories

For anyone who has never participated in the “sport” of swimming, let me enlighten you. Summer swim meets are not for the faint of heart. You sit there for hours in the hot sun, hoping for a bit of shade, just to watch your child swim for a maximum of maybe 5 minutes. My kids tell me they had loads of fun while playing with the other kids while waiting their turn to swim. That really was not
my experience.

If you’re not paying attention and you miss their race, a major tragedy occurs. Recovery from that mistake has to be carefully worded to not cause extreme disappointment. As I sat at the initial meeting before the season started, a newbie parent raised their hand and asked, “How long are the meets?” The entire room went quiet. The poor sap. She had no idea.

My child didn’t know how to swim, but could flounder across the pool in a manner that resembled the freestyle. That was the only qualification for getting on the team. I rejoiced. As each summer passed, she progressively improved.

It was an agonizingly slow process, but we persevered. I was puzzled the first year she swam because I saw kids the same age swim at incredibly fast rates across the pool. After talking to some parents, I was introduced to the concept of “year-round” swimming. I had never heard of such a thing. I grew up in a very backwards type of area and learned to swim on my own in three feet of water.

I knew other kids took “swim lessons,” but I thought that it seemed to be a waste of money. I learned quickly after my older brother would throw me in and dunk me. If only those other kids had the same privilege. After researching cost and time, I made the decision to just focus on the summer league.

The Discipline of Daily Practice

Lo and behold, after a number of years, my daughter continued to swim more and on different teams, and eventually asked me to enroll her in a swim club that did year-round swimming. I knew it was time. She actually thought it was fun.

It wasn’t until she joined that my final realization began to take hold. Every swimmer that swims all year is a good swimmer. If you practice each week for most of the year, you will become better, just like any habit or skill that you decide to focus on. Will you win every race that you are in? Highly doubtful. Your goal is to become better every day, and in that respect, you will become faster. Each swimmer races in their own lane. There is no one else in your lane.

The intended goal is to “ beat your time”, it’s not necessarily the goal to beat any other swimmer in the race. And it is considered bad etiquette to ask another swimmer what their time is.

Swimming In Your Own Lane

In this life, there is a constant temptation to compare yourself to others. You are swimming your own race in your own lane. It doesn’t matter how fast or slow you go.

Did you finish? Did you finish well? Did you swim the race without cutting corners? How you live your life and the choices you make will be different than anyone else. You are not like anyone else. Will you be going to the Olympics?

Most people don’t. They live their lives in a quiet manner, making only a local impact. My daughter later returned to her summer swim team, where she began her journey to work as a swim coach. Be who you were meant to be and do not confine yourself to the world’s standards.