Can You Swim?

In 1959, a requirement to graduate at Cambridge High and Latin School in Massachusetts was that you learned to swim.

 I couldn’t swim. We did not go to the beach as a family, and I had a near drowning experience with my cousins at a young age that left me with a fear of the water. But, I certainly wanted to graduate. So at the edge of the school pool, I dared to jump in and moved every part of my body to reach the end of the pool and back in order to pass. I did and graduated. I still don’t swim…at least physically.

Nella, a former missionary in Montreal, Canada, sent me a devotional about a swimmer, Yane Petkov. He won a world record for swimming with his hands and feet tied together. He swam 3,380 meters. He intensified the challenge by wrapping his body in a sack. (Our Daily Bread Ministries – July 11, 2026)

Can you swim? Are there voices that you hear saying that you can’t swim and you are struggling not to sink? Michael Booth sings a song, “He heals broken hearts, broken bodies, broken minds, He heals.” 

When we believe in God, we must believe God. It may feel like our hands and our feet are chained and we are in a body bag. We must swim in direct opposition to our feelings, our fears, and our darkness of discouragement. Sometimes in this situation the move is a small move. But this very small move is an act of faith. 2 Timothy 2:10 exhorts us to endure. “Therefore, I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.”

The Apostle Paul was in prison, in chains, not knowing at what moment his execution would come. What did Paul do? He kept swimming. He kept preaching. Those around him saw his chains. They saw his life in the worst possible emotional state, but Paul preached Christ. Recently, I heard a new song, “I was tossed in the water, but I didn’t go under….You were on time.”

I know that at 84 years old, I may not do what I did 10 years ago. But, His Word always brings His presence and His help to keep swimming–even in chains. I look to God for Him to help me do what I do. 

In June of 2020, my mother at almost 100 years of age became ill. For one week she was on morphine, and when a family member would come, I would ask her to give them a blessing. Sometimes she only had the breath to pray a short prayer. At other times, she prayed longer, and sometimes exhausted, she just closed her eyes before she said, “Amen.” Near death and on morphine, my mother still prayed. 

I remember the fear I felt as I looked at the high school swimming pool some 67 years ago. Remember the test and remember that God has given His Son, Jesus. “Go in peace. Your journey has the Lord’s approval.” (Judges 18:6) And when we reach another ‘pool,’ we will remember He is all we need. We will not have to cross the Jordan alone. ~Jeanne DeTellis Loudon