inspiration

Just Keep Swimming

/ Kimberly Fraker / Leave a comment

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9 (NIV)

I love swimming. Quite frankly, it is the only exercise I don’t hate.

As a young person, I took every lifesaving/water safety class offered at our local swimming pool leading me to develop this love of the water. I appreciate the physical benefits, and I love the versatility too. With this skill, you can swim for exercise, leisure, cooling down, or to save a life (possibly your own).

During the summer months, I try to swim 50 laps a day. Well … on the sunny days. Sometimes, I even push myself to do more. Most days when swimming, I am moving along, gliding through the water on a mission to complete a workout. When I’m done, I float enjoying the warmth of the sun watching the clouds drift by. However, there are times when I find myself treading water, dog-paddling to keep my head above water, not making much progress.

Life is a lot like swimming. There are moments/weeks when I’m making great gains. Moving forward toward my goals. Then, I find myself treading water. Kicking like crazy under the surface, struggling to keep my head above water. 

As reflected in the scripture above, I discovered when I push myself … one more lap, one more set, 10 more minutes … I become stronger. When I don’t give up on my goal, I feel so much better when I’m done. Then, I can float – bask in the sun. Over time, I reap the benefits of perseverance. 

My advice for you today is – Just keep swimming.

Encountering difficult circumstances – Just keep swimming.

Feeling like giving up – Just keep swimming.

You must keep pushing through the rough waves to reach the calm waters. Don’t become stagnate or get stuck treading water.

Just keep swimming.

Where are you today? Is there something that is good for you that you laid aside? Did you abandon a goal? Do you think that the peace you seek is unattainable? 

No matter where you are in your workout of life – toiling through the laps, floating in the sun, or treading water so you don’t drown … Remember, just keep swimming.

You, too, will reap the reward for not giving up

Begin … Again

/ Kimberly Fraker / 1 Comment

But if you will seek God earnestly and plead with the Almighty,if you are pure and upright, even now he will rouse himself on your behalf and restore you to your prosperous state. Your beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous will your future be.   Job 8:5-7

After my last post (December 2024), I decided to take a month-long hiatus from my regular writing.

Now, one year – not one month – later, I find myself here. Ready to begin … again.

2025 was complicated and challenging in a variety of ways. Navigating a new phase of life and changing family dynamics put me a bit off balance and I struggled to find a new rhythm. 

As an educator, I appreciated and anticipated the ending of one school year and the beginning of the next, viewing it as a chance to wipe the slate (or desk) clean and start new and fresh. Erasing the things that did not work or I did not like and carrying forward only those things that were successful and positive. 

I imagine this is how many or most people view the new calendar year, making resolutions and promises of improvement or vowing to leave behind the bad habits and destructive patterns of the previous year to enter January with a clean slate. 

But do we, really?

We don’t or can’t truly leave it all behind. 

Real life doesn’t stop and start like that. Real life is To Be Continued … much like your favorite binge watch. When whatever show your streaming ends a season, the next season picks up where it left off. Sure, some story lines end all neat and tidy but there is always something from the past that surfaces driving the storyline in the new season.

So here we are entering 2026, right where we left off in December. 

What was “so last year” is very much still right here with us. Those missteps and mistakes and those questionable choices and bad breaks didn’t disappear or miraculously vanish. 

It is all still here lying heavy on the heart. 

This new year is not the blank slate it is hailed to be. It is, however, an awakening. A calling to begin … again. January is a fresh start, an inhalation of hope and a renewal of self and spirit.

Whether your entrance into this New Year was accompanied with great fanfare and excitement or entered into as a whisper in the wind, there is encouragement ahead. No matter your circumstances coming into 2026, God is here for you and with you. HE is ushering us into this time and space as we begin … again – continuing our walk with Him.

When Job was at his lowest and humbled in ways we cannot fathom, he was reminded of God’s mercy and faithfulness. God longs to restore each of us in the same way – as often as needed. 

This year let’s seek God earnestly and prosper through what He has in store for us.

To Be Continued …