Finding Identity In The Deep End

Do you remember watching your child learn how to swim? When my kids were little, they were afraid to get in the kiddie pool. But as they noticed the other kids having fun, they decided to join them.

As my kids grew older, they transitioned from the kiddie pool to the shallow end of the full-size pool. However, they were afraid to go into the deep end of the pool.

After many talks and hours of swim lessons, they finally decided to embrace the fear of going deeper than their feet could touch. They chose to trust the training and motivation of those encouraging them to venture into the deep end of the pool.

As they jumped in and went under the water, the fear of drowning initially came back, and there was a quick jolt of panic. But when they returned to the surface and swam to the side of the pool, confidence filled the whole left behind by the panic.

My children now feel confident in their abilities to swim in the deep end. They found the deep end allowed them to jump off the diving board, perform cannonballs, and test their skills diving to the bottom of the pool.

The pool went from splashing in the shallow end to hours of fun using the entire pool…

For our lives, we have been given the whole pool to live in and find our identity. Unfortunately, most of us end up staying in the shallow end of the pool.

The shallow end of the pool allows us to find our identity in our feelings and our basic human desires. It’s a great place to start seeing an identity as a child, but it leaves out all the things that are offered in the deep end of the pool.

If we stay in the shallow end, we miss out on many things in life. We miss finding a relationship with our Creator. We miss the opportunity to trust God will provide for our needs when everything around us says no one can meet our needs. In the deep end, we find a joy so profound that happiness becomes an afterthought. As the fears of terrorism, disease, and the destruction of humanity seem to dominate our world, you can rest in knowing there is something better to be found in the deep end. You get the opportunity to see a peace in the chaos of the world. You can truly love your neighbor, not for their identity, but because you experience a love that never changes and gives you mercy when you know you do not deserve another opportunity to be forgiven.

Life is found in the deep end, and I can’t wait for you to join me.