Learning To Swim 6/8/2020

Good Morning,

The sunrise was quick and stunning this morning and it soon took away the dampness of the night dew. I can almost hear the flowers growing in Rene's gardens. I just sat down to write after praying and gathering my thoughts. A cup of Door County Cherry Creme Coffee sits next to me and I will extend my heart to all of you in writing.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another , and build one another up.

Yesterday afternoon after I finished the yard chores I decided that I would take our two English Springer Spaniels for some swimming. Now being the hunter I am, when I say swimming  the event had three purposes. The dogs like to splash around in the water and they had been outside in the sun following me around all day. A nice cool time in the water was called for. Yet the second purpose was to keep them in shape and swimming is great exercise. Thirdly, I train them to retrieve downed game from the water and to find it when it's not exactly visible.  We have two dogs. One is a seasoned hunting veteran who I just keep in shape and practice his skills a little. The second one is still a puppy, just one year old. Due to the timing of him joining our home and his age at that time, water training had to wait until about two months ago. And of course Covid 19 interrupted the training. So he is a little behind. His name is Leo and now we have an almost fully grown dog who is just really learning to swim. He is improving every day.

I found out that  this dog needs encouragement and baby steps. When I exposed him to the water I only let Leo go in as far his feet could still feel ground beneath him. Little by little I would throw the retrieving bumper out just a little further. The first time he went beyond where his feet could still touch ground he panicked a little. But he responded to the encouragement  to retrieve the bumper and return to me. Last night he was swimming out further and did some excellent work. He is still a little clumsy in the water but is coming along nicely. I praised him and a lot and he responded well. He wanted more time chasing the bumpers in the water. You can see his confidence growing.

The second thing that has been working for Leo is that his housemate Gibbs goes with us. Leo had to sit and watch Gibbs retrieve from longer distances, swimming fluently and efficiently. He was learning by example. He has a desire to imitate his older buddy.

My point for today is that I usually am very impatient and want all things to move quickly. But, I don't believe in throwing out a bumper that a puppy is used to retrieving on land and letting him learn how to swim the hard way by jumping in over his head and struggling to find his water legs.

All to often we do this same thing with people who are struggling in life or in their faith. In churches we always want to get the new Christians on board. Very often we throw them into service or study with a bunch of seasoned folks and they get lost in the land of doubting their abilities to understand the Bible or how to pray. This holds true for those who are recovering from hurt, addictions or recent losses also,  What everyone needs to take are baby steps and then move to the deeper stuff as they are able. People recovering from an addiction need encouragement and a guiding hand now and then. Most of all as our older dog does, we need to set the example for Godly living. They need to see our faith in action. Soon the y will be swimming on their own and functioning with new skills. Yet we need to remind them that we are their on the shore of their lives with the encouragement to keep going.

Now and then, Gibbs for  whatever reason will not be able to find a duck that went down. I encourage him to keep going, giving directions from shore or the boat. But when I see that he is tiring I call him back for a rest. We then go together either by me wading in or we take the boat. Sometimes we need to swim through life with our friends as they navigate the waters of recovery or a new found faith. But we must be patient. If I see where Gibbs went wrong and we can retrieve the duck I still let him go and finish the retrieve. I don't wade over and pick up the duck. My goal is to have him keep his confidence and not be humiliated by a failure.

Friends, think about this. We are all in different seasons of our life and our faith. But as I watch the next generation of dog take over the main hunting spot some day, I want to teach with patience the art of hunting to the new dog and use the abilities of the older dog to assist. There is someone today who could use you as a mentor or friend. There is someone confused in their faith or wondering if they can beat an addiction or bad habit. They want to jump in and whip it quickly but they could start to drown and quit .  You need to be on the shore of a life or two.

God bless,

Marty