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Adventure With God

 My mom was from a British Island, so she was an incredible swimmer. I remember following my mom out in the water till my toes could no longer touch the bottom. The moment I could not rely on my own footing was when I was ready to learn how to swim, especially if I wanted to continue to follow my mom. Following God can be the same. There are many things we do in our life that come naturally. At some point, though, that natural security is no longer an option if you want to continue in God’s will.

For me, with my mom, I remember the initial panic when I realized my toes did not touch. There becomes this debate to continue and swim or to turn-around for that safe ground. I even remember turning my nose up to walk a little farther out in the water, so I did not have to swim. How many times do we spiritually do this with God? Oh, we want to be out in the deep end, but we are not willing to advance or grow.
Reliance on God comes from allowing ourselves to go beyond what we are capable of doing. When you prepare your New Year’s action plan, be bold in your request to God. Write down words that seem foreign to you are flat out impossible for you to achieve on your own. It frustrates me when one of my students proclaim, “I pray that God makes me like you.” God does not bestow characteristics or mannerisms on us; we must develop them. All of us have those moments in our life where God has presented an overwhelming situation, and we must decide to continue or turn around and go back to what feels safe. Do you want to let another year move past you, or do you want to have an adventure with God and spiritually grow?
I can testify that there have been some scary moments when I felt overwhelmed, but when I refocused on God, I realized the feeling was a lie.

Photo by Noel Broda on Unsplash



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