Grace and peace, friends.

Can you believe that summer is almost here? Time seems to go by faster and faster these days.

Our family recently got together and our conversation with the kids went back to summers when they were younger and their swimming lessons. It’s funny. We have two kids, Nic and Gabbi. They grew up in the same house with the same rules, but they couldn’t be more different. When it came to being “all in” with the swimming lessons, my daughter, Gabbi, was a fish. No hesitations whatsoever. But my son, Nicholas, well, he wasn’t quite as comfortable in the water. He never wanted to get his hair wet and certainly didn’t want to go under the water.

There was one swimming lesson that I distinctly remember with Nicholas. We were in the shallow end of the pool, and I was wanting to show him how to float on his back in the water. So, I floated him on his back with his ears in the water and belly button out of the water and said that I was going to count to three. On three, I let him know that my hand would be just below his back, but I assured him to “relax and trust that I have you.” Can you guess what happened when I reached three? He tensed up, flailing both arms in a panic, and we had to try it all over again.

Faith can be a lot like that, can’t it? I often think that God wants to make swimmers of us all. I love a verse I shared in Traditional last week from John 14:27 where Jesus said to His disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

It‘s easy to fret, flail and worry. Yet, the Father has His hand on us. What’s essential? Rest, relax and trust.

That, my friends, is good news.

— Mark