Almost There

I went swimming again this morning.  It feels so great to be swimming again.  I'm not anywhere close to the swimming shape I was in 6 months ago, but I'm not concerned about that now.  For now, it just feels good to be able to get in the pool and swim.

Today was a special treat in the pool.  Every few times I swim, I forget about the drills and just swim.  Today it was 20 laps.  A respectable distance, certainly.  One that requires discipline and patience.  One that requires focus.  And most of all, one that requires lots of counting!

And this morning, while counting lengths of the pool up to 20 and then back down from 20, I was reminded of my very favorite moment of the swim: when I touch the opposite end of the pool and say in my mind the number 3, indicating that all I need to do is swim back to the other end and then complete just one more "down and back" lap ... and I'm done.  That moment, is my favorite moment.  It's at that moment that I say, "I'm almost there."  Close enough to feel the finish line approaching.  But far enough away that I can still enjoy the experience.

In other words, that moment of "Almost there," allows me to most savor, "Here."  Maybe it's been a long, challenging swim.  That's OK.  I'm almost there.  So just enjoy this moment, this next stroke, this next kick, this next breath.  Maybe it's been a really great and enjoyable swim, and it will be sad to see it be over.  That's OK.  We're not quite there yet.  So savor this moment a bit longer.

That's how I try to live my life in Christ, too.  And how I want US to live as people of God together, too.  In the grand scheme of life, the universe, and our eternity in Christ, surely we're almost there.  But not quite.  But God will get us there.  So we savor this moment.  We get to work in this moment.  We adapt.  We adjust.  We do what needs to be done for the sake of our neighbors.  We share God's love.  We experience God's love.

And we rejoice.  Because being, "Almost there," can make "Here," a most sacred place.

May God strengthen you for the next length of the journey.

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