Just Keep Swimming

By: Elizabeth McKeehan, IMH 

I’m dedicating this article to my dear swimmer friend Dana.  2014 hit us both with some tragic and unwelcome news and life change.  I lost my pastor husband of 17 1/2 years to suicide and she received a daunting cancer diagnosis.  Neither of these situations made any sort of sense to us.  I was 42 and she was 33 years old.  Both of us had 2 young children to rear amidst the chaos. We both found ourselves confused and lost.  Yes, we have faith in God, but it has been severely tested.  We know He is with us and loves us even when we have, at times, screamed at Him. 

Much like Disney’s Dory from the 2003 Finding Nemo.

I am a firm believer in Dory’s practical philosophy.  What do you do when life gets you down (submerges you even), all is unclear or confusing, and you feel lost?  Dory says, “you know what you gotta do…just keep swimming…swimming…swimming…”

• Breathing deeply: “Just keep breathing…breathing…breathing…” is pretty vital here too!

• Paying attention to what resources you do have: Mind, lungs, heart, arms and legs that keep you going. Friends cheering you on count too! Take each day minute-by-minute while viewing the day itself as a resource and gift. Appreciate these God-given resources. 

• Reaching and straining forward: With your arms focused towards where you want to go, pressing forward as the Apostle Paul encourages us in Philippians 3:14: “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

• Pacing:  Dana said she was a great pacer in high school; pacing was the key for her to win a race.  She would start off strong, slow down a bit, and then end with a bang.  Pacing has helped her through the never-ending hospital visits and she makes sure to pass the time with coffee breaks with friends before her test results come in.  She continues to see life as one big race needing pacing out.  For me, pacing helped me tackle the initial big projects I had to do like sell a house, two cars, move to another state, and start a new job.  My mom would remind me, “How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time.”  My pacing included lists I daily made to stay focused. 

• Moving: Even if you are swimming in circles, you are getting exercise and training. While you are moving you are saying “I’m not giving up.”  Endorphins are even released in our bodies that make us feel better.  Appreciate where you are, how far you have come, even if it is just a little bit.  You are still swimming. You have not given up. You are making progress through the hard. 

Friends brave enough to be in the water swimming alongside you are more valuable than gold.

Enjoy them in this season while swimming, walking, talking, laughing, crying, screaming, praying, learning, grieving, and encouraging together!  Thank you, Dana, for being a “swimming buddy” these past 6 years.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:  If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.  But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.” 

Think Nemo and Dory, Jonathan and David, Ruth and Naomi. Your true-blue best friend and you, two (or more) are better than one.  

 

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