Last year, we had a layover in Puerto Rico and my oldest son jumped into the swimming pool and went down the water slide not knowing how deep it was at the bottom. Of course, he started to sink, panic set in and he was pulled out by a gentleman right before we could get to him.

This summer, the first thing I did was enroll him in swimming lessons. My normally fearless son who loved the water, was so nervous about swimming class. He kept telling me that he didn’t want to go. The weeks leading up to it were torture for him.

We woke up yesterday, I fed him breakfast and got ready to take him swimming. When we arrived, he was okay. There was a playground outside and since we were early, I let him run around.

His entire demeanor changed the minute we stepped into the building. I had never seen such anxiety or fear on my sons face. He was so nervous.

It took some coaching but he got into the pool. He also blew some bubbles after much coaxing to get him to put his face in the water. He also attempted to float on his back.

At the end of his lesson, he was excited to go back next week.

If you have ever read the book The Alch.emi.st, you know that lessons to be learned are placed all over the universe and in plain view. It takes a trained eye to not overlook them and an open heart to decipher the messages. 

Today, I saw my son conquer his fear. He lept out on faith, took a chance and found out that he had the ability within him to do something he had not thought possible.

I can’t overlook that this was God sending me a message and I need to figure out how to apply it in my daily life.