Faith Venture

My wife and her sisters persuaded me to try an aqua fit class during our vacation at a resort last week. I can swim but seldom get in the pool. Meaning: I’m not that good.

After a lot of “weight” work with 8 oz. dumbbells that in the water simulated several pounds, the instructor got out three or four-foot lengths of foam tubing called noodles. At one point she instructed us to put them between our legs as if we were sitting astride them. Then she said pretend you’re pedaling a bicycle and head to the deep end of the pool. Then she told us to do a breast stroke motion with our arms. I fell off the noodle, got tangled up in the darn things, and was in water over my head. It took a few seconds to get my bearing.

A few minutes later I experimented on my own in shallower water and discovered the “trick”.

Let’s back up a second. When I had a new person come to my Yoga class, I’d ask about experience. Some had more than I did. Great. Just explain the progression of poses and keep an eye on them just in case.

If they said this was their first experience, I would give instructions to the class for moving to the next pose while standing or kneeling with the new person to help them find the correct adjustment for the pose. (without touching them, I never touched a student)

I’m thinking that aqua instructor, nice person though she was, knowing I was a newbie, should have given me a bit more instruction and watched more carefully.

Then I thought about other things.

Do we convince someone to “accept Jesus in their heart” and then just send them to drift into the deep end alone?

Do we tell someone to read their Bible daily without teaching and feedback on how to read ancient spiritual writing?

Perhaps you may have memories of being adrift and lost. Maybe someone teaching live or from a book helped you find your balance sending you off into freedom.