Beneath the surface

We played with my underwater camera last week at the swimming pool and came home with this gem as well as a few others. I soon after made this photo my Facebook cover. Makes me look like the fun mom, right?

Well, maybe. 

It certainly shows how fun my kids are, how they aren't afraid to go under the water, how Ben prefers to swim with his eyes wide open, how Cate requires goggles to see, and how they're quite cute swimming around.

But it doesn't capture everything in my momma heart right now.

I feel God doing a work in me. It's hurting a little because I'm having to let go of selfish desires and self-made plans. But it's freeing to realize {slowly, I'm stubborn ...} that I'm not in charge. It's exciting to see how the Creator of the entire universe is tending to details in my life.

I sense God doing a mighty work in my husband too. He's a businessman, an entrepreneur, but he manages to prioritize his family, seek out authentic relationships with other men, round up guys to play basketball almost weekly, and intentionally build a legacy and learn from those who have gone before him.

I believe God is here with us, changing us moment by moment, promising not to leave us the same.

I've talked about balancing work and play as God gives me opportunities to use my communication and organizational skills. This summer has been the epitome of balancing busyness from responsibilities with play that goes with summer. I'm a summer girl at heart. I want my kids to swim and eat snowcones. I want to take road trips and indulge in the togetherness that doesn't happen in the school year.

So we go to the pool. It's there I feel God reminding me to let go. He nudges me as if he's saying, "Just jump in with them." So I do. That day last week, I set down my Kindle and disconnected my insulin pump and got in. We had this fun, under-the-water photo shoot. I helped my girl practice swimming. I let Ben splash me.

The pool is an easy place for me to parent. The kids are easy there. They like to swim, sometimes together, sometimes with friends they make, sometimes with friends we plane to see, sometimes in their own corners of the pool.  Sometimes I sit there with my Kindle in head, soaking of words. Others times I get in with them. My kids are confident there. They don't ask for much more than an over-priced Airhead from the concession stand. And when I tell them a few hours later that it's time to go, they don't usually negotiate because they're tired.

We come home smelling like chlorine, a scent that takes me back to some of the best moments of my own childhood. Our skin is a tad tanner. They're happy and tired. And I'm reminded that God does indeed meet us wherever we are, even beneath the surface of the water, because he wants us to know peace and joy that come from Him alone.
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I'm linking up with Crystal Stine's Behind the Scenes. I love the encouragement to share real life happening beyond what a photo shared on Facebook captures. Yet another way for this momma to embrace imperfection. I'm also sharing this post with Jen Ferguson's Soli Deo Gloria party and Jennifer Dukes Lee's #TellHisStory. 

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