Lane Markers

I recently checked off "survive a summer weekend in the desert" off my bucket list.  No, I don't actually keep a bucket list, but if I had, I would check it off to make sure that I don't do it again.  Due to "interesting" circumstances, I had the distinct experience of spending a summer weekend with my family at Indian Wells, near Palm Springs.  The weather was quite ideal for making raisins, sun-dried tomatoes and jerky, as the air was bone dry, reached about 95 degrees Farenheit by breakfast, and between 105-110 degrees by noon.  The only way to really enjoy the experience there was either to stay within air-conditioned confines or to get out early in the morning.  I got out shortly after 5 a.m., jogged a few miles, showered, walked over to the resort swimming pool, and was delighted to find that pool hours were from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.  I never swam outdoors that early in the morning before, but a morning swim just after sunrise sounded wonderful.

I was the first person in the water around 7 a.m., while a couple of resort employees were still cleaning the pool area.  It had been nearly two weeks since my last swim, so I started out by swimming across the width of the pool just to get accustomed to the water.  Everything seemed fine except that my right shoulder kept  making clunking sounds when I pulled my right arm out of the water.  Nothing serious, I thought, as I often had this problem, and it usually would go away after a few laps.  I sized up the pool, determined that it was about 25 meters long, waded to one end, aimed straight ahead, put my head into the water, and pushed off the wall, paddling the crawl stroke at a slow pace, turning my head to the side every third stroke to breathe.  Stroke, stroke, breathe, stroke, stroke, breathe...whoa!  I approached the wall way sooner than expected and almost collided into it.  Was I faster than I thought, or was the pool that short?  I realized that it was neither after I looked around, and saw that I somehow veered sharply off-course to the left, and actually ended up on the short side of the pool.  Embarrassed but relieved that I was still the only one in the pool, and that the pool cleaning crew seemed to be minding their business and not watching me (I'm sure they were trained to keep their giggles in check), I got back into position, and tried it again, this time trying to pay attention to landmarks above the water when I turned my head to breathe.  Still not much luck after several tries, but at least I managed to make it from one end of the pool to the other, not in straight lines, but zigzagging and cutting long diagonals.  Strangely, I never had trouble swimming in relatively straight lines at the gym pool, and often would even share my lane with other swimmers without any collision.  The difference was that each lane in the gym pool was marked by a dark blue line on the bottom, so that I was able to swim in the right direction as long as I followed the line.  There were no such lines in the resort pool, and I never learned how look forward above the water when swimming.

Two more guests entered the pool about half an hour into my newfound swimming incompetence, and I now was even more careful to make sure that I didn't veer off too wildly and get in others' ways.  I stayed close to one edge of the pool, but despite strenuous efforts to stay on one side, I found myself drifting toward the center and getting close to a middle aged man who was effortlessly darting back and forth in the water.  I corrected my position, looked to the left to make sure that I was increasing distance from the other swimmer, and then, WHACK, I collided obliquely against the side wall, and ended up with some bleeding and a swollen forehead.  I suspected that someone actually saw me.

Just as I could not swim straight in an unmarked pool, it is also impossible to walk rightly in our daily journeys through life without proper guidance.  We get our sense of direction and orientation from our conscience, from God's word, and from others who have a better sense of direction than us.  Unfortunately, some of us are so utterly dependent on the directions of others, that they failed to hone their own ability to maintain proper spiritual orientation.  As a Biblical example, Joash became king of Judah at the age of seven, and he reigned for forty years, mostly under the tutelage and counseling of Jehoiada the high priest.

"Joash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all the years of Jehoiada the priest."  (2 Chronicles 24:2)

Unfortunately, after Jehoiada died at a ripe age of a hundred and thirty years, Joash's wicked side emerged, as he and the officials of Judah abandoned the temple of the LORD, promoted idol worship, and murdered Jehoiada's son Zechariah, who succeeded his father's position as high priest.

Similarly, when the Israelites first entered the promised land, it was written that:

"Israel served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the LORD had done for Israel."  (Joshua 24:31)

However, within a few generations, it was written:

"In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit."  (Judges 17:6)

May we be diligent to use all available resources to sharpen our sense of direction in life, and may we not fail to impart such discernment upon our children and all others who seem content to rely on us alone for guidance.