We’re at swim practice and the little boys and I are watching from the spectator seats.
Samuel is in the water. I take my eyes off him for a minute, and when I scan the pool, it seems that he is gone.
The swimmers push through the water with precision. Like cogs or gears or rhythmic parts of a living whole. But I don’t see Samuel. At least not at first. When I finally see ELIASEN on a swim cap, I’m surprised. I shouldn’t be. I’d been watching him the moment before.
But this child is growing fast.
His shoulders, pulsing out of the water, are solid and strong. His limbs are long and lean. I tend to think of Samuel as one of my little boys, separated by six years from his older brother. But today, I see that he’s not.
And for a moment, I’m sad.
For just a moment.
Then there is joy.
It’s been a precious thing to watch this child grow. He’s reaching and yearning for good, honorable things. His mind is expanding. His thoughts are deep. His love for the Lord and for people is growing, too. He is stretching and so is his world.
This is a parent’s joy.
It’s a fulfillment of hope. It’s what we wish for. Dream about. Strive to have happen.
And I wonder, sitting here, if this is the way the Lord feels when I grow, too.
Like my sweet son, I too experience times of growth. Times when a truth is revealed in the Word, and I’m able to claim it as my own.
Times when a flailing spiritual discipline becomes habit, and the habit becomes a weight-bearing support in my life.
Times when I share of His love with freedom and grace. Times when I trust Him enough to let His light shine into a deep cavern of fear. Or when I understand, for a moment in time, just one fragmented facet of His never-ending love.
I watch as Samuel glides through the water, dips under and makes a clean turn. Then he’s off again, opposite direction, same smooth stroke.
I’m proud of the way that my son is growing.
And I smile because I know that God must be proud of His daughter-child, too.
