* In a Fog

Then the Lord said to me, “Write my answer plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others. This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed."

Habakkuk 2:2-3 NLT

She was born in San Diego on May 19, 1918. Florence May Chadwick had her first swimming competition win at the age of ten, and at the age of eleven competed in her first "challenging" competition,  a rough water swim.  She placed fourth in the event.

Chadwick's biggest contribution to swimming history occurred on August 8, 1950, when she crossed the English Channel in 13 hours and 20 minutes, breaking the then-current world record held by American swimmer Gertrude Ederle. Ms. Ederle was the first woman to successfully swim cross the English Channel. 

One year later, Chadwick crossed the English Channel yet again, from England to France; this time, in 16 hours and 22 minutes, thus making her the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions, and setting a record for the England-France journey.

In 1952, Florence attempted to swim the 26 miles between Catalina Island and the California coastline. As she began, she was flanked by small boats that watched for sharks and were prepared to help her if she got hurt or grew tired. After about 15 hours, a thick fog set in. Florence began to doubt her ability, and she told her mother, who was in one of the boats, that she didn’t think she could make it. Unable to see the coastline due to the fog, she swam for another hour before asking to be pulled out. As she sat in the boat, she found out she had stopped just one mile short of her destination.

Two months later, Chadwick tried again. That time was different. The same thick fog set in, but she made it because she said she kept a mental image of the shoreline in her mind while she swam.

Sometimes, our lives can be just like that. We get in a fog, and can't see any way to get where we're supposed to be going. We lose sight of our destination. But let me remind you - our destination is Heaven. Can you see the gates of pearl? Fog or no fog, fix it firmly in your heart and mind. That's the goal. Jesus made the way.  Keep heading in the right direction. You're almost there. Don't give up! Don't stop now - we are SO close!

Prayer:

Father,
         Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, we press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  Fix it in our hearts and minds, so that we are not taken off course. Help us to keep our eyes on our goal - eternity with You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen