Learning to be Cautious

 

On August 26, 2016 after I’ve wanted to go swimming for awhile this summer I decided to go that day as I didn’t go last year.  I was hoping to go swimming with my husband, but found out that he wasn’t that into it.  I realized that if I wanted to go this year I would have to go on my own.

I love swimming as you can float in the water at times, as well as swim under water like a fish.  I find that I get a similar sensation of feeling free as I do when I figure skate.  It turns out that there is an outdoor pool in our apartment complex.  I’ve know about it since I moved in a while ago, but I hadn’t thought about going to it as it’s a pretty small pool.

On Thursday since it was a humid and hot day I thought it was a perfect day to go for a swim.  I walked to the apartment pool in about a minute with my towel and sandals.  I had my bathing suit already on so, after taking off my shorts and touching the water with my foot, I almost forgot that most outdoor pools are not heated.  It was a little bit cool for what I’d like, but I decided to quickly get into the pool anyways.  I warmed up once I started swimming around the pool. 

At first, the lifeguard told me that I wasn’t allowed to swim in the deep end because it was cloudy.  I didn’t understand why at the time, but I did later.  I was a bit disappointed because the pool was small as it was to start with, so now I only had a smaller portion of the pool that I could swim in, which was only the shallow end.

About ten minutes later another lady that often swam in the pool asked if she could swim in the deep end saying she’d be careful and the lifeguard agreed.  He then said I could also.  I was excited to now have access to the whole pool.  The lady who had asked to swim in the deep end started to throw an orange object in the pool and then dive in to get it.  A teenage girl also did the same thing.  They then asked if I wanted to play their game as well, and I said sure.

I knew the deep end wasn’t that deep so I decided to dive for the object when I was already in the pool.  I thought I’d be fine since I knew I was a good swimmer and could normally see pretty well underwater.  It turns out that when I dove down to try to find the orange object I couldn’t see it and I accidentally banged my forehead on the side of the pool.

Thankfully I didn’t knock myself out, but it did hurt for a moment.  What the lifeguard was saying about not swimming in the deep end when it was cloudy came back to me.  He was right – it made it less clear to see where the edge of the pool was.  When I resurfaced I mentioned to the lady I was playing the game with that I had hit my forehead and I asked if it was noticeable.  She said it was and quickly advised me to get out of the pool in case I might have had a concussion.

It turns out that I got a big bump on my forehead with a very small amount of blood when I hit the side of the pool.  The lady checked me out and I was alright.  I was quite glad to be close to home as it was only a minute walk.

I learned that sometimes going into something overly confident isn’t always the best thing to do.  I knew I was a pretty good swimmer so I didn’t even think about being cautious in a pool I hadn’t been in before.  If I had been wearing goggles when I was swimming underwater, I know there wouldn’t have been a problem as the goggles make seeing underwater much easier.

I think God was showing me that it is better to go into something new slow and steady than diving into it with a headstrong attitude (no pun intended).  I am very thankful to God that He could teach me this lesson as it could have turned out a lot worse.  I know for sure He was looking out for me that day.

Pool safety is very important whether you have been swimming your whole life like I have or are a new swimmer.  Unexpected things can come up while you are swimming, so it’s always better to be cautious while doing so.

Patricia <3 J

Proverbs 4:26    Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure.

 

Here’s a song about we need a revival, and a miracle, and that there is a time to heal and a time to be built up like our Lord had done so in the olden times.  And our King is among us and His glory surrounds us and His love is victorious and a revival can happen with Him and His name.

 

“The King Is Among Us” by Elevation Worship

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnyVz1u-6yM&list=PL3whQX319DaB37iB8NZpJe206iSdpe3kc&index=149