a beautiful expression of faith

April 12, 2006

as i was doing my cool down routine in the pool on friday, a mother and her young son entered the room. i immediately took notice of the two (maybe because i love observing how children interact with their parents). this little boy could not have been older than five years old. he was wearing a set of swimming aids across his biceps. he kept talking to his mother as he stared at the pool. at first, i couldn't make it out. i was too far away to hear the entirety of their conversations.

i didn't understand what he was doing at first. he would dip his feet in the water, climb down the ladder partially and come right back up. then he would chat with his mom for a bit and repeat the process. soon, i came to realize this little boy was afraid. he had no idea how deep the water was and it seemed to me, he had either never swam before or he had very little experience. as i focused my attention on the two, i heard the boy ask his mom whether or not he should fully submerge himself. she assured him that everything would be okay, "i'm right here" she said (the mother was sitting on one of the chairs beside the pool). he looked at her intently. her loving gaze assured him that everything would be alright. her words soothed all his fears.

the boy approached the ladder again. as he began the decent, his eyes were fixed on his mother. he dipped his feet into the water and slowly but surely, moved down the ladder, step, by, step. for you who have never been to this pool, you should know that the ladder does not go all the way to the bottom. there is a certain distance between the last step and the bottom of the pool. when he finally reached the bottom, he hesitated for a brief moment. then, he made the jump. can you imagine what might have gone through his mind as he did this? remember, he had NO idea how deep the pool was, plus he had little to no experience swimming.

the next moment was so precious. the little boy was ecstatic! "mom! i'm swimming!!!" he exclaimed in delight. in that moment, his fears were completely replaced with incredible joy. joy lit up his face as he began to move about the pool.

what a beautiful expression of faith. faith is looking to God and trusting him, in spite of our great fears and uncertainties. faith gives us the courage to step forward, when nothing makes sense to us. faith allows us to glimpse the power of God at work in our lives.

i was reminded of my journey of faith as i headed off to CTI two summers ago. i was unsure if i was to still go because of my health complications. despite all my fears and uncertainty about my health deteriorating for the worst and causing permanent damage, i went anyways. i knew God was still calling me. looking into His eyes, He reassured me that everything would be alright. that gave me the courage to pack my bags, head to the airport and board the plane. i was scared about what lay ahead of me, but i trusted Him. the result? incredible joy and delight in God. i learnt so much and experienced so much that summer. those memories will be with me forever.

faith may seem very abstract to many of us, but the reality is, it's not overly complicated. faith simply requires us to put our full trust in God. like the little boy, we look at God with His reassuring eyes and rest in the knowledge that everything will be okay. this gives us the courage we need to step down any ladder we may encounter in life and allow us to jump off the last step to the bottom. when we get there, we will see the beauty of it. it may not be immediate, however, but in time, it will happen. we will experience the joy and delight of stepping out in faith and trusting God.

"faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" - hebrews 11:1 [NIV]

Posted by Leo Chan at April 12, 2006 11:24 PM