Tonight I decided to go swimming. I have forgotten how much I love swimming. There is something so theraputic and relaxing about it, even though it is great exerise. I had heard that there was a diving board at the pool here, but it had slipped my mind until I was actually IN the pool. For those of you who don't know, I used to dive... a lot. It was a big part of my life and the thing I was most passionate about for a long time. The whole time I was doing laps I was thinking about that diving board. I was totally drawn to it, but was trying to convince myself that I didn't really want to go near it. I finished my laps and moved into a deeper part of the pool. I was in there treading water for several minutes, my heart started to beat faster as I thought about diving. I wasn't nervous or anything like that, I don't really know how to explain what I was feeling. It was this excitement that I couldn't contain mixed with my stubbornness and not wanting to go anywhere near the diving board. It had been a long time, years even, since I did it last - talk about being out of practice. Finally I gave in and moved towards the deep end of the pool. I got up on the board and realized that I had to do it quickly, kind of like ripping off a band-aid. I stood for only a moment and then started. By the second step into it I felt like I had slipped into something so familiar, so comfortable.

As strange as it may sound, my little trip to the pool today was exactly what I needed. This past week I've really felt the feeling of being in a new place with new people. I've been praying a lot about feeling a sense of home, of familiarity here at Wheaton. As small as it is, diving was exactly what I needed to do tonight.