The High Dive

Growing up, I belonged to a swim club.
It was close to my house.
I could walk there.
In fact, I could see it from an upstairs window.

From that vantage point I couldn’t see faces but I could see umbrellas.
I knew where different people usually sat for the day, so if their umbrellas were up, they were already there.

I loved the water.
I was never a phenomenal swimmer, never on a swim team, but I enjoyed swimming.
It was a big event when I was old enough to walk down to the pool myself and stay for the afternoon. There were always neighbors to go to if there was a problem.

In order to swim in deep water you had to pass a swimming test.
The lifeguards gave the test.
Swim the length of the pool, tread water for a determined period of time, swim back.

If you did that successfully, you received a triangular patch that had to be sewn on your bathing suit, below your right hip.
It was the lifeguard’s way of knowing who could be in deep water and who could not.

I wanted to pass my test so badly.
I was about ten years old at the time.
I practiced and practiced and felt that I was ready.
Tests were given in early morning, before the pool opened.
I remember my mother was there, on the sidelines, cheering me on.

I remember the sound of the whistle.
I began to swim.
The length of the pool, that I swam so many times before, felt so expansive now.
Every time I took a breath, I could see the lifeguard walking alongside the pool’s edge.

I reached the other side and had to tread water.
I was determined to finish.
I could do this…think of the triangular patch.
The whistle blew; I turned around and swam back.

A hand came down in the water to help me out.
When I got out, the lifeguard handed something to me.
Two triangular patches…I passed my test!

That night my mother sewed the patches on my bathing suits.
The next day would be my first time to swim unattended in deep water.

Perhaps I got bit too confident.
After all, I passed my test.
Everything else would be easy to accomplish.

The only thing that was left to master was the high dive.
I enjoyed diving on the low board and the medium board…but the high dive was intimidating.
But it was there…waiting to be tackled.

I would watch people dive from that height and I knew I could do it.
One day, I decided it was time.
My mother happened to be there on the big afternoon.

I walked toward the steps and waited until it was clear to climb.
I looked over at her and she gave me a small smile.
Halfway up the ladder, I had second thoughts, but there was a person waiting at the bottom of the ladder, so there was no going back.

I reached the top…holding on to the side rails for support.
I walked to the edge.
It was so high…the board was so bouncy…the people were so small below me.
I guess I was taking too long because the lifeguard blew his whistle at me.

Suddenly, my feet left the board and I was on my way down.
Diving…head first…into twelve feet of water.
Halfway down, I changed my mind, and somehow twisted my body to come out of the dive.
Except I didn’t twist fast enough or complete enough.

Belly flop!
Smack against the water.
I remember touching the bottom of the pool and pushing myself up to the surface.
I could hear the groans as I hit the water.
Everyone vicariously experienced what I just did.

My bathing suit was red and striped.
My stomach looked like that for about a week afterwards.
I was not hurt physically, but I was embarrassed.
I never went back on a high diving board…ever…never wanted to.

When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.
(Proverbs 11:2)

It is good to try new things.
It is wonderful to be confident.
But the operative word in my mishap was “I”.
I decided it was time…I thought I was ready.

He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.
(Proverbs 13:20)

Sometimes, our biggest mistakes happen because of our own foolishness.
We think we know more than other people who have already walked where we are walking.
We can do it ourselves…thank you very much.
We don’t need to ask for help or advice.

But we do.
God places wise people around us to help us.
They’re available…but we are too proud to glean from their wisdom.
That is unwise.

The One we need to run to first is God.
He made us.
He knows our strengths and our weaknesses.

Whether big decisions or small, God is a loving Father who cares for His children.
He wants us to run to Him for help, advice…for Wisdom.

Sometimes we belly flop.
The stripes of our consequences remain with us for quite a while.
That is a good reminder for us.
We need Him like we need air to breathe.
As we come up to take a breath…there He is…right alongside…cheering us on.

The Sovereign Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, He enables me to go on to the heights. (Habakkuk 3:19)

 

 

2 responses to “The High Dive”

1. Much of my childhood was spent at that same pool. I never got up the courage to take “the test” to swim in the deep end. I waited until I turned 12 years old – at that age you didn’t have to take the test. I can still remember the view from the high dive … look left to see volleyball courts, straight ahead the field of Amosland school, far to the right the Dairy Queen. You can take the child from the old neighborhood, but the neighborhood lives in the child. I can still remember standing in line at the snack bar. I was 5 or 6 yrs old and the counter was above my head. Thank goodness there was a glass window to view the candy. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

   Reply

   • You’re welcome friend…I’m so glad you remember. Your umbrella was probably one of the ones I saw from the upstairs window…but I do remember you in the upper pavilion reading a book with your feet up on the railing…
     Isn’t funny what we remember?
     Good days…good memories…good friends!

     Reply