Look what I can do!

I want you to think of the one thing you are the MOST afraid of.

Perhaps it is heights

or spiders

or change

or snakes

or commitment

or dying...

For me:  I had a fear of being over my head in water!!

I can't swim.

When I was a girl my brothers thought they would 'help'

and they would throw me into deep water thinking I would 

suddenly just start swimming

but all it did was increase my fear of drowning.

When I was 18 years old that fear hit our family hard when

my brother Rob, his two friends and the dog all drown

in a canoeing accident.

Believe me that only cemented my fear that

the deep water is a dark, dangerous and ominous place.

So how did I get to the place where I am now snorkeling

and as of yesterday:  diving down?

victory pose!!

Well it was a long slow process that involved patience from Bob,

and lots of prayer.

The first fear I had to overcome was the fear of drowning.

Everytime I went over my head I would panic

so I needed to learn to believe that the equipment I had

(snorkel, mask and fins)

were my friends and would help me breathe and float.

I remember the day I said to Mattie

"I am going to go out to the reef today!"

(which is definitely over my head!)

Once the decision was spoken it released faith in my soul!

When we speak words we begin to believe them.. good words and unfortunately bad words

I was blessed to have Bob and Matt hold my hands as I snorkeled out to the reef.

Did I enjoy it that day?

NO!

But did I do it?  

Yes.

So little by little I have been overcoming this fear and becoming more 

and more relaxed in the water.

I have tried many times to dive down but I just couldn't do it.

Well yesterday out in about 40 feet of water Bob said,

"Just look down to the bottom, and let your head drop down and your body will follow"

Amazingly enough it worked!

The tricky part now is staying relaxed and learning to clear my ears

from the pressure of diving down.

I have to admit I don't like looking up and seeing about 10 feet of water above me

because I keep thinking I am going to run out of air, I am going to run out of air!!

So you might be wondering, 

why is it so important to dive down?

Well I guess the main reason is to be able to see better.

Instead of seeing fish about 10 feet below me I can swim over top of them

I can see the coral and fans and the tubes better.

Everything looks better close up!

And the other reason - diving down is awesome exercise!

I have been carrying around 30 extra lbs. for TOO LONG and 

I am hoping this will help to shed those.

This is such a huge accomplishment!!

I thank Him for small victories

like overcoming fear and tackling a new skill.