Fear is something I have struggled with my entire life. I still struggle with a lot of fear even as we speak. Some of it is so irrational that it would make you laugh. Fear is something I am fearful (ha ha) about passing on to my children.
I’ve noticed that Nicholas is a very cautious child. There are very few things that he will do right away without thinking about it first. He needs to check it out first. Swimming lessons has been great for him to learn to trust his teacher and to grow in an area that was once scary for him.
The last couple of months the swimming teacher has been asking the kids if they want to jump off the diving board. They have all been very adamant about not doing it. But, something changed this week and Nicholas decided it was something he wanted to try. One little girl decided (or her mother did) that she would do it too.
The first day, the teacher suited them up in life jackets. I watched with much apprehension as my little boy climbed the ladder and slowly inched his way to the center of the diving board. Then, fear got the best of him. I thought of a solution to encourage him because I knew he’d like it if he tried it. Last year, Nicholas had a teenage boy that was a helper in his class while I was in my Wednesday morning Bible study. We were surprised to see him just a couple of weeks ago starting as a lifeguard at the pool. I asked Nicholas if he would do it if Jared helped him. He agreed.
Nicholas still did not want to jump on his own, but he let Jared drop him in the pool – not once, but twice. I was so proud of him for just getting up the diving board. On Thursday, he tried again, but without the life jacket. This time another lifeguard helped him. Evan and I were both there to encourage him. The fact that my almost five year old did something that scared him encouraged me too. I would have never done that at his age.
How many times do I stop myself from even climbing the ladder because of fear? I tell Nicholas that he can ask God for strength when he is afraid, but I find that hard to do when I am in the midst of a fearful situation. But, watching Nicholas climb the ladder, made me realize that we are capable of so much more than we allow ourselves. We don’t have to do it alone either. God can provide someone to help us along the way, just as the lifeguards helped Nicholas.
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| First time on the diving board |
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| A little help from a friend |
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| Life jacket-free |
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| There he goes . . . |
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| One more time! |
I have no doubt that one day Nicholas won’t need anyone to drop him in. He’ll be jumping in without abandon. But for now, we’re proud of him for taking the first step to overcome his fear.
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