Anyway this quote came at the right time again (thank God!) hee coz was just thinking about "Change" while swimming last nite.. Yes here I am, back w my passion again, after stopping for like almost 1 & half mths....
Realized my stamina had dropped so much man. Sigh. My initial respectable 40 laps was down to 20 now.. Haha. But still, it was gd, coz it got me thinking again.. (hee duno y it alwiz happen while i swim.. =p)
Rem I mentioned I met a guy @ the pool the other time? Well, he corrected my freestyle that time actually, & I've been trying to adapt to the new correct version ever since. & it was really tough coz the style's entirely different from what I usually swim.
But I hanged on, refusing to go back to my old style, coz I know my previous style's wrong. Several times I was tempted, coz going back to the old style means I can swim much more comfortably and easier. I mean, why make myself so miserable trying to change? Isn't staying the old way ok? And some more I've been swimming with that style for so many years, and I was perfectly ok with it. I could swim faster with my old style too. With this new one, I have to start learning from scratch, perfecting each stroke, consciously reminding myself how to twist my body to come up surface and breath etc. & I swim at a much slower speed with this new style. What's the point?
The point is, my old style is WRONG. The new style is RIGHT. Who told me? A triathlete. Someone who participates numerous triathlons. Someone who undergoes professional coaching in swimming. So should I doubt his correction? Obviously no.
& it's the same with God too.. When God told me it's wrong to do, say, or think about something, do I go against Him? "Eh God maybe you're wrong la.. I feel that I'm actually not wrong leh.." Then the explanation of self-defense goes on.. Trying to find a loophole. Trying to argue your way through by making yourself less guilty. Trying to justify that your old ways are not entirely wrong.
I've learnt that pride & stubborness are the 2 killers in any relationships, specially that w God's. The unwillingness to admit your own mistakes/weaknesses & accept help & change, the inability to take criticisms & Godly discipline etc.. All these can really kill relationships & friendships away..
Another underlying issue - The trust factor. Do I trust God? For eg. when the pool guy corrected my old style of swimming, do I trust his judgment? Of coz I do! Why? Bcoz he’s experienced. Same goes to Jesus. We trust in Him bcoz He, too is experienced.. =) Got reminded of Heb 4: 15 again..
“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”
So what's next after willingness to change, and then acting upon it? Patience! Yea we got to WAIT if we want to see the fruits of our actions. I got to be patient if i want to see myself swimming better.. This reminded me of a parable that I read last night in Mark..
Mark 4: 26-29 (The Parable of the Growing Seed)
And He said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
Thus we got to be patient, for it'll takes TIME for our seeds to grow, for our actions to see the desirable results at the end. There was a time when Pastor Meng was teaching about a lesson on sowing & reaping and he drew a picture of a seed and soil on the whiteboard. Then he said if he kept taking the seed out to see has it sprouted or not, den put back into the soil again, den take out again, den in again, time passes by, and the seed is still a seed. Coz by taking in & out from the soil, he's not letting the seed to have TIME to sprout and thereafter, develop its roots.
We sow the seed - the desire & commitment to change; God gives the increase - the fruits of it. And the test comes when - you see that nothing has improved after you've planted your seed deep down into the soil. Nothing seems to change. Instead, you feel that you are paying too big a price by making this big change in your life, or by waiting for the results to show. Would you give up, and go back to your old ways? Would you keep digging out the seed and replanting it back again? Or will you persevere on with the change, hanging on, waiting and continue trusting in God that your seed will surely sprout one day? In Phil 4: 6-7, it says..
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
And in 2 Cor 9: 10,
"Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness."
Thus, the key to success is TENACITY. Your ability to persist on even if you don't see results yet, to focus on the prize instead of the price & sacrifices that you might have to make along the way. 2 of Paul's widely quoted verses:
Philippians 3:14
"I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
Acts 20:24
"But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy.."
Yeaa... so back to my swimming story! In the end? I realized that I'm starting to get the hang of this new style recently.. The nice momentum, the gentle propelling glide ahead etc. proves that this style is indeed the correct way! & I know that if i'm going to be consistent with my regime, with more practice, effort & time spent in it, I'm going to swim fast, much faster than when I used to swim before.. (woah I suddenly tot of Tiger Woods hahaha) ;)
On a side note, I noticed that most ppl who swim freestyle in the pool are all doing it wrongly actually. Only once in awhile I'll see some rare ones swimming the correct way. Another lesson? All others are doing does not necessarily mean they are doing the right thing. Most of the times, they are only doing the EASIER thing.
Song ringing in my ears:
"Breakaway… I’m living for You.. Breakaway.. I’m living for Truth..."
Conformity kills? =p
Another verse pops up.. but well, enuf of preaching here.. u guys know wat i mean.. Anyway say so much also no use.. i'll have to live them out.. ;)
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