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| Sharon Perkins |
All who know me very well know that I Love to swim!! When we were children Mother would take us swimming often, (probably to get us out of her hair). We took swimming lessons enough to know how not to drown (ha) and we spent hours at the pool.
When Dalon (my husband) and I moved to Amarillo from Shamrock, we were led to a church that had a wonderful
young married couples class. Some of the women in the class decided to go to the YWCA and take swim lessons and although I already knew how, I decided to go along with them. It would be a good time of fellowship and I could get away for a while.
Our instructor was the most graceful swimmer I’d ever seen (other than Esther Williams). I was so inspired by her graceful strokes and when she dove in the water there was hardly a ripple. She looked like a beautiful swan. It didn’t take me long to realize, truly all I knew about swimming, was how to fight the water and get across the pool. There was no grace about it. We could swim under the water well but that was hard on breathing. My sister Sandra was especially good about underwater swimming. She was always disappearing under the water. We’d begin to worry about her and about that time she’d come up for air.
I never missed a class, I learned to really, really enjoy my swim. I didn’t fight the water
Anymore. Now, it is the most relaxing exercise and enjoyable times I have and it is all due to learning the proper strokes and breathing techniques.
My dear friends, I often think of the Christian Life this way. As we learn to trust Christ in the way I learned to trust the water to hold me up, we quit fighting His leading and relax! Have you ever tried, on purpose, to get to the bottom of the pool? It is hard to do. The Lord holds us up the same way. It is “Christ living in us” that holds us up. We can fight against His leading, or follow His leading. The most relaxing is the latter. Follow wherever He leads and He will give us rest. MATT. 11:28-30
I started teaching swimming after I learned the proper technique. And that’s exactly how I felt when I finally learned the mystery of the “Normal Christian Life". Col. 1:27 “Christ in you the Hope of Glory”. The life Christ wants us to enjoy, how he sees us, why he came, he says in John 10;10….. “I am come that you might live life to the fullest.” I realize so many Christians are like I was, struggling to live the Life after accepting Jesus as savior. Knowing we are going to heaven but not enjoying the journey on the way there. After I came to the end of my struggling self, knowing there had to be more, a better way, things weren’t consistent. On one hand I saw faithful Christians that were just grinning and bearing their life (so to speak) and on the other hand I heard preachers that spoke of living life to the fullest. I knew there was something I was missing. I began diligently seeking Him and God, brought many books and people into my life to show me the way. One book was “The Normal Christian Life” by Watchman Nee. Another book that was very instrumental was, “The Saving Life of Christ” by Major Ian Thomas. When I learned these truths I had to teach it. I didn’t want others to have to struggle, and fail. When I was approached to teach a Bible study at Carenet many years ago I knew what the Lord would have me teach. And to this day I’m still sharing the things I’ve learned to the classes at the end of childbirth sessions. If only I had been more aware at that age and time in life. But it’s never, never too late to learn and of course we would all be better Moms by enjoying our Christian life instead of constantly struggling.
This class is known as Victorious Christian Living. I always look forward to teaching this to any class, anytime, because it keeps me in the Word and is a reminder to me, of where I came from. It was a hard lesson to learn, but now I never want to go back to wilderness living. Oh yes, I find myself there sometimes but at least I recognize the problem and quickly run to Jesus and His word. Wilderness living is not what God wants for us. Praise God! Thank God for Carenet and the opportunity to serve the Lord in this wonderful place.
