There are seasons when life feels less like moving forward…
and more like treading water.
You’re still here.
Still showing up.
Still doing the things that need to be done.
But underneath the surface, you’re working much harder than anyone can see.
Your legs keep moving.
Your arms keep moving.
You keep breathing.
Not because you’re trying to get somewhere.
Just because you’re trying to stay above the water.
I’ve been thinking about that lately.
We place so much value on forward movement.
Progress.
Growth.
The next step.
We want to feel like we’re going somewhere.
But there are moments in life when circumstances stop us in our tracks.
When someone we love is hurting.
When we’re waiting for news we don’t want to receive.
When the future suddenly feels much closer than we’d like and much less certain than it did yesterday.
And in those moments…
maybe progress isn’t the point.
Maybe staying afloat is.
I’ve realized there’s a particular kind of exhaustion that comes from uncertainty.
You can’t fix it.
You can’t rush it.
You can’t think your way into a different outcome.
You can only stay where you are…
and keep breathing.
I think sometimes we mistake those seasons for standing still.
But treading water isn’t stillness.
It’s work.
Quiet work.
Invisible work.
The kind no one applauds because, from the shore, it can look like you’re barely moving.
But maybe God doesn’t measure our faithfulness by distance traveled.
Maybe some days faithfulness looks like taking another stroke.
Saying another prayer.
Getting through another hour.
Trusting God with something you desperately wish you could control.
And breathing again.
There is a story in Matthew where the disciples are caught in a storm.
The waves are crashing.
The wind is fighting them.
And then Jesus comes walking across the very thing they’re afraid of.
I’ve always loved that.
The water never frightened Him.
The storm never confused Him.
And the thing threatening to overwhelm them was already beneath His feet.
Maybe I need to remember that.
Because there are things in this life I cannot swim my way out of.
There are outcomes I cannot control.
There are people I cannot save.
There are moments when all I can do is keep my head above the water and trust that Jesus knows exactly where I am.
So if this is a season of treading water…
maybe I don’t need to be ashamed that I’m not moving forward.
Maybe today I just keep breathing.
Keep praying.
Keep trusting.
And remember that the water I’m struggling to stay above…
is still beneath His feet.
“But Jesus immediately said to them: ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’”
— Matthew 14:27 (NIV)
