Do These Goggles Make Me Look Fat?

Some people think swimming makes you skinny and trim. That's silly. How many people look at whales and think, yes, that's the body I want to have? Well, back during my swimming days, I would sometimes go up to people and ask, "hey, do these goggles make me look fat"? One of my college coaches told me no (but he would often tell me to do more sit-ups, so I was suspicious...). Anyway, regardless, this is what I want to say: it is easy to get caught up in pointless details. When first learning how to swim, it would be stupid to spend your time debating with your instructor about what goggle color is best. The instructor would likely maintain that the important thing is getting in the water, learning good technique, and obeying instructions so you DON'T DROWN. Sitting on the side with nice goggles isn't swimming. And the color won't be of much use when you are flailing around in the water like a drunken lizard man. I think that's a good picture of me and God sometimes. He tries to teach me important and cool things, and I spend the whole time questioning what color goggles to wear (asking questions that SEEM like a big deal to me, but are not focused on what matters to God). And then I get mad when I'm fumbling around in the water with my fancy goggles on, unable to keep my head above water because I was selfishly distracted from learning the important things.

The Bible says that if we need wisdom, we can ask God for it (bam) and He will help us. I think when we ask for God's input, we should be open to whatever He wants to tell us. Too often, I demand for God to give me the answers to the questions I think are important. I get frustrated if I don't instantly hear "Do option C immediately, don't do A, and definitely not B". But maybe God wants us to ask different questions - ones that actually address the obstacle that's come between us and Him, rather than being fixated on ourselves. It seems the most popular questions these days are about the right path to take (career/dating/location). God cares about those things, yes, but maybe the key to the answer is something deeper. Maybe it isn't a "Yes or No", but a "you need to know Jesus better". There have been times I have said, "God, tell me anything you want, I just want to know you, hear you, and follow you". And I received specific direction that didn't seem to answer MY question at all, but ultimately lead me to a discovery that made the bigger life question easy to answer. There's a joke that the right answer to any question in Sunday School is "Jesus". Maybe that actually holds true in adult life? If we focus more on Jesus - knowing Him, loving Him, walking with Him...then our questions WILL all be answered and will work out. But that's really hard to do!