Treading Water

 

When treading water you are doing what it takes to keep your head above water while not really moving forward. In other words, you're often doing what it takes to survive. Doing basic movements while gaining no ground in moving ahead. 

While treading water you can give your body a break from heavy physical exertion. However, you can only tread water so long before even this wears you out. At the worn out point a swimmer leans forward and floats (dead man's float) to give the legs and arms a break. 

Sometimes in life we can feel like we're treading water physically and mentally. We're just doing the basics to get through each day. This is ok but we must remember that while we're treading we are making no headway. We're only maintaining. 

I know very well what this is like. I felt like I had been treading water where my health is concerned for several years. A year ago I did something to move forward in correcting my health. Now I am on the mend and have knowledge to not be stuck treading water in my health anymore. 

I have also felt as though my husband and I have been treading water in life at home and at church for quite some time. Life has been a blur the past couple of years and we're tired. We have even had to do the dead man's float a few times. We finally took steps recently after a year of praying about what to do to make choices to move forward in a different direction. Now a lot of pressure and stress has been lifted. 

Sometimes treading water in life is absolutely necessary. Some days the bare essentials are all we can muster. With our minds consumed with the trials we're facing, our mental state is effected which in turn effects our physical state. So, it's ok during these times to tread or even float temporarily as we figure out what's next.