Scottie Stamper, our Director of Adult Spiritual Formation, presented this devotion for our staff meeting last week. It is a great reminder for us all.

Several years ago, I started training for triathlons. Being 40-something years old, this new venture required learning new athletic skills. For many years, I’d enjoyed road and mountain biking, so getting back on a bike was like... well, getting back on a bike. However, running and swimming were basically non-existent in my lifestyle. Over three or four months I became a decent runner – not fast, but I had pretty good form. Better yet, I began to enjoy running.

Swimming? Ugh. On the first night of training, the YMCA coach asked each participant to swim two laps – up and down the length of the pool. I swam as hard as I could down the length of the pool. When I arrived at the other wall, he caught my eye and said, “You don’t have to swim back if you don’t want to.” I was grouped with other “non-swimmers.”

Over a few weeks, and with the help of a patient and effective coach, I learned to swim more efficiently, earning the right to move into “group two.” There were several aspects of training for the swimming leg of a triathlon that I enjoyed: cool, clean, sterile water. It was easy for me to follow the thick black line painted on the bottom of the pool. The walls were nice for hanging onto when I became exceptionally tired. The lane dividers kept me from crashing into others. I trained – ran, biked, and swam for four months – getting better and better each week.

Finally, the first Saturday in June rolled around and I drove to the site of my very first triathlon: Lake Wiley. Yes. It was a lake – not a cool, clean, sterile pool. Lakes, as I learned in elementary school, are habitats for fish, snakes, and all kinds of plant life. Murky. I’m squeamish of murkiness. There were no lane dividers so there were people crashing into each other. There was no thick black line to lead the way. There were no walls to hang onto. Thankfully, my coach had reminded me of the differences between the pool and the lake. “When you feel overwhelmed, flip over on your back, look at the sky, catch your breath, and find your happy place.” It was sage advice for triathlon participation.

Like swimming in a lake, life is void of lane dividers, walls, and thick, black lines to lead the way. Life is rarely sterile or completely clear. There’s quite a bit of murkiness. The beauty, though, is that in the murkiness there is LIFE! Adventure! Mystery! Productivity! Life is much like the lake: it’s a habitat for all kinds of people, behaviors, encounters... LIFE! The advice given to me for the swim portion of my first triathlon is applicable to the everyday: “look at the sky, catch your breath, and find your happy place.” Take in the mystery and enjoy the adventure.

Life is short. Live large.

– Scottie