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Water Down

Water Down

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Water Down--waterfallWhatever lies below a waterfall gets watered down quickly. The water:

  • Covers it
  • Weakens it
  • Overwhelms it

If we hike to the bottom of the waterfall, its power grabs our attention. We rarely notice other sights and sounds.

To water down means to cover or weaken something.

Surfaces we may cover with water include:

  • Yards with new grass seed
  • Clothes ready to wash
  • Houses and buildings in danger from nearby fires

We add water to weaken or dilute:

  • Soups
  • Juices or other drinks
  • Sauces

We also water down or weaken:

  • Stock values
  • Agreements
  • Laws
  • Truth

All lose worth and become less effective when we omit important information.

If we water down the truth, everyone loses.

We may not want to share hard truth. However, we need to know reality, even if we don’t like it or it hurts. Plus, people no longer trust us if we tell less than the truth. Better to stay on the up and up.

If we have not told the truth, remember confession is good for the soul. It’s never too late to turn over a new leaf.

“An honest witness does not deceive, but a false witness pours out lies” Proverbs 14:5 NIV).

Thanks to Phyllis Patton for the suggestion.

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In Over My Head

In Over My Head

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In Over My Head--Acadia National Park CoastlineI love to travel the coastline of Acadia National Park. However, if I enter the water, I get in over my head.

Sometimes I feel like I am in over my head with life.

I have more on my to-do list than I have time to do. I drown in work.

Also, when I try new tasks, I feel in over my head because I:

  • Don’t understand how to do them.
  • Have to spend hours or days to learn them.
  • Think I will never learn.

I feel like I am spinning my wheels.  I want to give up.

When in over my head, I often tell myself:

  • I can’t do this.
  • I don’t know what I am doing.

When that happens, I need to get away from it all.

I need a break. My thinking must change to:

  • I can’t do everything, but I can do some things.
  • I can’t learn everything, but I can learn more than I know now.

When I focus on my problems, I feel in over my head. When I let go and let God take control, I find peace.

“God, save me! I’m in over my head” (Psalm 69:1 MSG).

How about you? What do you do when you feel you are in over your head? Please comment below.

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Get Our Feet Wet

Get Our Feet Wet

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Get Our Feet Wet: ocean washing against a beachIf we want to learn to swim, we have to get our feet wet.

A friend’s grandmother taught her to fear water. Therefore, my friend never learned to swim.

My parents had me playing in water when I was a baby. I never feared water, but I did obey safety rules.

My sister, brother, and I enjoyed water games for hours. We:

  • Stood on our hands
  • Floated on our backs
  • Jumped and splashed
  • Looked for fish

I wanted my friend to know the freedom of such a day. First, she had to get her feet wet.

When we try anything new, we must get our feet wet.

We have to take those first steps. Once we get our feet wet, we can move on to deeper water. We can add new skills.

Yet, fear often keeps us from trying.

  • What if I fail?
  • Will I look silly?
  • What will people think?

The truth is:

  • We all fail sometimes.
  • We all look silly sometimes.
  • People don’t notice us as much as we think they do.
  • If we make mistakes, we can always go back to the drawing board.

As an old song says, step into the water.

Get your feet wet. Then, one step at a time, experience the fun of learning something new.

“‘Lord, if it’s you,’ Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to you on the water.’ ‘Come,’ he said” (Matthew 14:28-29 NIV).

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A Drop in the Bucket

A Drop in the Bucket

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A Drop in the Bucket 2
Courtesy of morgueFile

A little bit of anything does not seem enough to make a difference. It is just a drop in the bucket. A drop in the ocean has the same meaning.

To understand this expression better, try carrying a bucket full of water. Then lift a bucket with one drop of water. We often think that one drop makes no difference or little difference. It is such a small part of the whole.

Compared to the greatness of God, we are like a drop in the bucket. God’s power, goodness, and love overflow like a waterfall.

A Drop in the BucketAt the same time, God loves each one of us and can use us for good. Working together, like many drops of water, we make a great difference in our world.

In addition, when we let God work in our lives, our buckets of blessings overflow.

“Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket” (Isaiah 40:15 NIV).

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Swamped

Swamped

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SwampedSwamps cover several parts of our world. Our lives often get swamped as well.

My bucket list includes a trip to the Okefenokee Swamp.  I want to do the swamp island drive to see:

  • Birds and alligators
  • Plants and moss-covered trees
  • Water, grasses, and other forms of wildlife

Most swamp land has too much water to farm. It has too little water for many water sports. A person who tries to walk through a swamp can easily sink or get stuck.

Although I like to see swamps, I do not want my life to get swamped. It has been in the past. I hope to avoid it in the future.

When swamped, I have too much to do and too little time to do it. As a result, I sink under all that work. I get stuck and have a hard time doing anything. I feel snowed under.

We escape swamp land and swamped lives the same way: one step at a time. We choose the best direction to go. Then, carefully and slowly, we work our way out.

“May the Lord be praised! Day after day He bears our burdens; God is our salvation.” (Psalm 68:19 HCSB).

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Photo courtesy of morgueFile.

Sink or Swim

Sink or Swim

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Sink or Swim

Many of us have fallen into water while playing games. Others have had someone throw us into water. Either way, the question remains the same: Will we sink or swim?

Some of us learn to swim quickly from such an experience.

  • We have to work harder.
  • Our swimming may not look pretty.
  • Yet, we swim our way out of danger.

In rough water, the strongest swimmer struggles. A weak swimmer has a much harder time. When a strong swimmer helps a weak one, both grow stronger.

Life is like that. We meet challenges every day. Some we know how to solve with no problem. Others present difficulties we have never experienced.  Either way, we sink (fail) or swim (succeed).

A few challenges may be impossible to overcome. With most, we have a choice. Will we:

  • Give up or try harder?
  • Listen to negatives or positives?
  • Accept our limits or grow?
  • Ignore people weaker than us or help them grow?

“He replied, ‘You of little faith, why are you so afraid?’  Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm” (Matthew 8:26 NIV).

Have you had a sink or swim experience? If so, please comment.

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Like Water off a Duck’s Back

Like Water off a Duck’s Back

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Like Water Off a Duck's BackDo you need a solution for anger or frustration? Watch ducks. That’s right; watch ducks.

Ducks often dive under water for food. When they come up, the water glides over their backs and returns to the pond or lake. Occasionally they shake their feathers to get rid of any extra water.

Ducks show no need to:

  • Watch the water.
  • Quack at the water.
  • Fight the water.

They’re too busy swimming and diving for something to eat.

When life upsets us, let the problem go. Treat it like water off a duck’s back. We don’t have to:

  • Focus on what upsets us.
  • Yell at what upsets us.
  • Fight what upsets us.

Getting upset tires us, so in a duck-like manner:

  • Ignore hateful comments.
  • Overlook insults.
  • When we must respond, do so clearly but kindly.
  • Then shake off any remaining negative feelings.

In the process, we gain freedom — freedom from the control of others and freedom to become our best selves.

We can also pray that those who upset us learn to act like ducks.

“A fool is quick-tempered; a wise man stays cool when insulted” (Proverbs 12:16 TLB).

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Water under the Bridge

Water under the Bridge

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Water under the BridgeSome of my favorite childhood memories took place under this old swinging bridge. My sister, cousins, and I waded in the water under the bridge. I learned to swim in the water on the other side of the bridge.

We loved to walk across that bridge. It swayed and bounced like an amusement park ride. It scared me silly, but I always wanted to cross it again … and again … and again.

As I walked across the bridge, I looked down at the water. I didn’t think much about it then, but the water under the bridge kept changing. It flowed down the creek, replaced by new water. That constant movement kept the water fresh and safe.

When anything is water under the bridge,  it has already happened.

It’s over and cannot be changed. Like water that has traveled under a bridge, that experience is past.

In spite of that, we often hang on to the past, not letting it go. We fail to let bygones be bygones. In the process, we make ourselves miserable.

Rather than living in the past, let’s realize the past is water under the bridge.

  • We can remember it.
  • We can learn from it.
  • But we must not dwell on it.

Live in the present. Look forward to the future.

“He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water” (Isaiah 49:10 NIV).

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