Thinking Out Loud, Volume DXXII

When you're ten years old and it's a hot summer afternoon, you say yes when your uncle asks if you'd like to go swimming. That was the situation for me one particular afternoon. My Uncle O.D. Haymon asked me that question as he and a group of teenage boys from his church were planning to head down to the Calcasieu River near his home in Indian Village, Louisiana, for a couple hours of fun. The location they had picked out for the trip had a sandy beach, which made it a perfect spot for a kid to play in the water, but the trouble was, it was on the other side of the river. On our side, there was a drop off at the river's edge and the water was very deep at that point. As we approached the water, all the boys, my uncle included, started running and jumped in. I stopped at the bank, and Uncle O.D. said, "Come on in." "How deep is it?" I asked, which was really a useless question since anything over four feet was too much for me. His reply, "Oh, about thirty feet." "I can't swim," I answered. He then said, "I'm right here. I will not let you drown." That's all I needed to hear, so I jumped in feet first. It was an experience like I had never had before. A vertical, feet-first jump takes you deep, and I have no idea how far down I went; all I know is I went down, down, down, but not far enough to touch bottom. I think some natural instincts took over as I began pushing downward with my arms, and I could feel myself beginning to rise, but it seemed like an eternity before my head popped up out of the water. As promised, Uncle O.D. was right beside me as I frantically fought the water, heading across the river. Eventually, it dawned on me that I was actually swimming, and I gradually began to calm down a little, until I finally felt something that was one of the most awesome things I had ever felt....my foot touched the bottom, and I realized I could actually safely stand in the water. For me, it was an unforgettable afternoon of fun, and when it was time to go home, I started back across that river, with my uncle right beside me, as a much more confident young man than I had been just a couple hours earlier. Oh, and the neat thing about it was, although he was beside me the entire afternoon, he never had to even touch me the whole day. That's how I learned to swim. A few weeks ago as I was attending a big gathering of Christian men from all across Northeast Louisiana, I heard a statement that reminded me of that day at the river more than a half century ago. The speaker said, "If you've hit bottom, be thankful, because that's as far down as you can go, and the only way from there is up." My mind immediately went back to that moment as I was learning to swim and how relieved I felt when my foot finally touched the bottom. Another thing I remembered was how it seemed like an eternity before I got my head back above the water, when actually it really only took a few seconds. If I had not completely trusted Uncle O.D., there's no way I would've jumped in that day, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't scared. In fact, I was terrified. As I struggled with the water that afternoon, I kept looking to my right to make sure my uncle was still there, and though he never had to actually lift me up, just his presence was a calming influence. He helped me prove to myself that I had what it took to get across that river. I was a typical kid that day, and I played in that water for two hours without ever stopping to think I was gonna have to recross that river, but when that time came, getting back to the other side was much less traumatic, because I KNEW I could make it. I had already done it. I learned so much that day, although it would be years later before I would realize just how much. I learned how to swim through water that summer day, and though I didn't understand it then, I also learned how to swim through life. I now know that as frightful as hitting bottom sounds, it can also give me a base from which to spring up. I also learned that when I start to doubt whether or not I can make it, all I have to do is look to my right and there is Someone there, right beside me, who will not let me go under. Today I understand that the struggles I've faced in my past give me the confidence that the next time they come around, I've defeated them before, and I can and will defeat them again. Yes, I am now aware that although it seems like it's taking forever to get my head above water, it really doesn't take as long as it feels. You see, I'm more confident now. I've learned how to swim. Preston