Sharks

Every summer, Tristan eagerly anticipates our trips to the lake. He loves being there. He enjoys throwing rocks into the water, riding the boat, and most especially...swimming in the pool at the Willow Point Club. The pool is the highlight of each of his lake trips. So, imagine my surprise when he starts telling me he doesn't want to swim in the pool this year. He has been adamant about it. He will not swim in that pool. I asked him why not, and he never would give me a straight answer.

During our Disney Trip, the truth was revealed. While looking out at the hotel pool, he told Channing and me that he did not want to swim in the hotel pool, even though his favorite cousin, MRK, was going to go swimming. Then he said, "Mommy, there are sharks in the pool." I said, "What?" He then repeated himself, "Mommy, there are sharks in the pool." I said, "Tristan! Who told you that?" (I will not be using the real name here). He said, "Andy told me there are sharks in the pool." "Andy" is a child in Tristan's class at school.

Channing and I spent the next 10 minutes (and have spent lots of time since then) attempting to convince Tristan that there are absolutely no sharks in the pool. I promised him that we would never allow him to be in any situation that we knew was dangerous, and that we would never allow him to swim in a pool if there were sharks in it. We tried to explain that sharks are only able to live in special salt water, and that the pools we swim in don't have that.

If you were to ask him today, he would tell you that there are no sharks in the pool. However, I'm still not sure that he is convinced. I guess the true test will be when we go back down to the lake.

Dealing with this situation taught me a huge lesson. I was reminded that Satan, "the father of lies", does the same thing to us that "Andy" did to Tristan (ok, let me stop for a minute here. I am, in no way, comparing "Andy" to Satan. I am just using the lie itself as a comparison. "Andy" is a precious little boy!). We are happily doing our thing when he (Satan) shows up and bombards us with his lies. He puts lies in our ears and fear in our hearts. We soon forget that our Heavenly Father has us in His hand, and we start to live by fear rather than by faith.

While I was explaining the whole shark thing to Tristan, I felt like God was telling me, "I'm trying to tell you the same thing. I am protecting you. I will take care of you. You can trust Me. Don't believe the lies. My promises are true." I feel like He must sometimes look down at me, just as I was looking at Tristan, with love but a tiny bit of frustration (not really the word I'm looking for). I feel like He kind of wants to shake me and convince me that despite what I may hear with my ears or see with my eyes, that isn't necessarily the truth. He knows the truth. He shares the truth in His Word. I feel like, through this lesson, He wanted to say, "Do you see? You know there aren't sharks in the pool. You think it's actually kind of silly that he would even believe that. You know that if Tristan continues to believe that, he'll miss out on something that brings him so much joy. Well you do the same thing. You miss out on blessings because of fear and lack of faith. I am in control. Believe My Word...all the time, despite your circumstances."

Although I wish Tristan didn't have this fear of sharks in the pool, I am so thankful for the lesson that God has taught me through this struggle. Today I was reading out of 2 Corinthians, and I came across this:

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through Him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set His seal of ownership upon us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 2 Corinthians 1:9-11

This has been a great lesson for me. I hope it helps someone out there reading too. Blessings to you!