I
knew when I started designing the Jesus Is My Swim Buddy T-Shirt it would be
surrounded by controversy and misunderstanding. Though the shirt does make a strong statement, it was meant to express
my faith and hopefully spark the conversation that is often avoided at all cost
in a day in age where political correctness dominates dialogue and most people
avoid the topic of faith all together. For the record, Jesus is a whole lot more than my swim buddy. He is my Lord, my Savior, and the biggest
reason I have a hope and a reason to keep on striving to be better all-around
and to have a positive impact on those around me.
I
am absolutely qualified to speak about this topic. Not because I am an ordained minister or Ned
Flanders, but because I am a big old fashioned sinner. I have screwed up more things than I care to
admit and if I didn’t have a rock, a foundation, or even a swim buddy I don’t
even want to know where I would be today. You might be asking yourself, “swim buddy,” what does that even mean? In
SEAL training we were taught right off the bat how insignificant we are as
individuals and operators on the battlefield. For that reason we always had to have another student no more than 6 ft.
away from us. It didn’t matter if you
were using the head (bathroom) or going to cool off in
the refreshingly warm water of the Pacific Ocean you had better be accompanied
by one or more swim buddies. Our warm
and thoughtful instructor cadre were not
about to allow any of us tadpoles to graduate and become frogmen with the idea
that we were going to deploy and go all John Rambo out there and get ourselves
and others killed because of our own stupidity. This is why I chose to use the terminology “swim buddy” because of its
importance and meaning in my former career. I also want to express to others where I turn when the surf zone of life
starts tossing me around and I get into waters way over my head.
If
you are tired of feeling like you are all alone and struggling to keep your
head above water I would encourage you look up and seek out the only
relationship that doesn’t run for the hills, go on vacation or tap out when you
need it most. Matthew 11:28 says “come
to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Those who know me understand just how
“results driven” I am. If this mentality
or faith wasn’t working out for me I would have kicked it to the curb long ago.
I can honestly say this is one
relationship where I am never disappointed and I have learned from experience
that when things start to get out of control and too rocky I usually need to
check myself and make sure I haven’t drifted 6 feet away from my real swim buddy.
