Floaties & Strangers

One day, when my oldest son was 4 years old, we were playing together at a pool. He still did not know how to swim, but as long as he had Floaties on his arms, he was fearless. He would jump into the water no matter what depth.

On this day, one of his Floaties deflated and would not hold air. One deflated Floatie sucked all the joy out of the moment. He felt his fun was over. I told him not to worry. I explained I would stand in the water and catch him when he jumped. It took a little persuasion, but he finally agreed to remove the other Floatie. He took his position on the side of the pool, and I took my post in the water just a few feet from him.

I told him I was ready. He could jump whenever he wanted. To my surprise, he would not jump. I pleaded with him. I promised him. I even tried bribing him, but he would not jump. I could see it in his eyes. He did not trust me. It stung.

Another man, a total stranger, had been watching this unfold. He waded down into the pool and stood right beside me. He looked at my son, held out his arms, and told him to jump. I thought to myself, “Who is this guy? My son will never jump into his arms. This is just some weirdo who has overstepped his boundaries!”

I was shocked. My son jumped into his arms. The pain I felt when my son did not trust me paled in comparison to the betrayal I felt when he left the sidewalk to leap into the arms of a stranger. I was crushed. I was embarrassed.  I did not know if I should cry or rage. My son trusted a stranger more than he trusted me.

I did not understand. My son had a history with me. I loved him. I provided for him. I took care of him. Heck! I was the one who bought him Floaties in the first place. How could he trust a stranger? How could he jump into arms of a random person?

You need to know something. I just made that story up. It never happened.

But let’s imagine for a moment that it had. Imagine how I would have felt. I think that is small taste of what our Heavenly Father must experience when we choose to not trust Him.

The Bible speaks of trusting the Lord, or choosing not to trust Him, in 96 different passages. Trusting God is a big deal. When we do it, there are benefits. When we don’t, there are consequences.

If you have placed your faith in Christ, you have a history with God. You have a past with Him. He has already proven Himself trustworthy to you.

I get that some of our Floaties have deflated in this Coronavirus crisis, but He provided those Floaties. Now He stands ready to prove just how trustworthy He really is. You and I must be willing to leap into His arms. Our joy does not have to disappear with our Floaties. We can still play in the water. It will look different. In fact, He may teach us to swim. It all starts with trusting Him enough to jump.

Let’s jump!

Here is a fun song. I hope you enjoy it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHXwcN2_hpI