Swimming

I'm thankful for so many things this morning, and one of those things is for free DC pools. I'm so grateful that my body has been up for swimming lately and thankful that as I've swam, my muscles have strengthened and my energy has increased and my inflammation has decreased and my overall wellness has greatly improved. I'm so thankful to wake up and have the desire and energy to move my body and I'm so thankful for how I feel after I do it. I'm so thankful for the retired ladies who fill the locker room who speak to me with kindness and respect and call me "hon" and "sweetie" and remind me not to leave my swimsuit and generally care for and love the people around them. I'm thankful for how quickly my body remembers how to do this thing and how quickly my endurance has grown. I'm even thankful for the good sore feeling after working out; a feeling altogether different than the pain that I am so accustomed to. I am thankful for those long minutes staring at the bottom of the pool and how they invite me to pour my heart out to the Lord without distraction. I'm thankful for how the warmer weather makes it easier to go and come with wet hair. I hope this summer to swim in an outdoor pool; wouldn't that be fun?

I was remembering in church yesterday how it felt to worship on my worst pain days, how tears would fill my eyes both from the hurting and from the hoping and from the knowledge God was with me and providing for me in it all. Yesterday I worshiped without pain, and I gave so many thanks for that. And yet I also knew that God's goodness isn't proven by how I feel one day to the next, or even that he has answered so many prayers in giving me this current stretch of improvement and healing. I've been learning in Romans 5 how God's love and goodness have been proven for all time on the cross and that this is my foundational and grounding hope. This is where I look to grow in my knowledge of his love for me, my circumstances notwithstanding.

So I look at the cross and I look at my life and all around me I see evidence of his providential, tender, abundant care for me. I give him thanks.