Not Quite a Triathlete

"Hey Glenn, you doing LA this year?"

My friend Juan runs, bikes and swims, and we participated in the same marathon event during the previous year.  It was therefore natural for him to ask me during a recent chance meeting whether I was planning to run the latest edition of the Los Angeles Marathon.

"Well, I've done 21 marathons already, so I thought that I'll give myself a little break from it this year...and I'm learning how to swim...."

I meant to say that I was training for my first ever triathlon, but was too sheepish to say it, because my swimming was still pretty atrocious.

"Wait, are you thinking about doing a tri?  That's great!  Maybe you can do the LA Triathlon this year.  You know, there's this class at a local college that teaches you how to...."

I already had similar conversations with several other friends, so there were plenty of folks who knew that I was planning to do a triathlon.  However, I had not registered for any tri event yet, because I was still worried about the swim portion of the race.  To say that I am a novice swimmer is a gross understatement, as I probably had not swam more than 200 total meters in over 30 years when I decided to hit the pool again for the first time after my last marathon.  My anxiety over being in the water was appropriate, as I was barely able to cover 25 meters at a time without drowning during my first pool session.  There was no way that I would actually register for a triathlon until I could swim farther...much farther.

I managed to return to the pool two to three times a week despite my initial aquatic struggles, and after about one month, I was actually able to swim a full 50 meters without touching the pool floor.  It wasn't pretty, but my endurance improved as I was able to cut through the water with a little less effort.  After two months, I would occasionally be able to cover 100 meters, and then 150 meters.  I was now tempted to look up the local triathlon race calender, but refrained from doing so, knowing that if I signed up for a race, I'd likely end up in last place.

I have now been swimming regularly for about four months, and can now cover a continuous mile in the water on good days.  I am still a very slow swimmer, and likely will still be one of the last persons out of the water in a triathlon, but I am improving, and hopefully will be able to beat out a few others during the race.  Time is now ripe for me to register for a race.

Most people probably consider my cautious approach before signing up for a triathlon as being prudent, a matter of "counting the cost" before undertaking a project.  Jesus also cautioned those who wanted to be his disciples to count the cost of following him:

"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower.  Won't you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?  For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, 'This person began to build and wasn't able to finish.'

Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king.  Won't he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?  If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.  In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples."  (Luke 14:28-33)

Many who claim to be Christians are drawn to the benefits of Christ - eternal life, heaven, forgiveness of sins, peace, joy, purpose, etc.  However, they often fail to recognize the cost of following him, and many become disillusioned when they enter rough waters in life.  The cost of being a Christian is total surrender - we are asked to totally relinquish control of our lives to God.  It is not difficult if we recognize that God's ways are infinitely better than ours, but if we fail to understand this cost, we will be fighting against God's directions for our lives.