Just keep swimming: my life in a nutshell

"Jump, and you will find out how to unfold your wings as you fall."
- Ray Bradbury

Wow, where should I start? Every time I write on my blog, I spill out all my guts (Maybe, not literally, but you get the picture). As I have said time and again, I grew up in a musical family. We are just as excited about music as we are about swimming.

 I've been swimming since I could crawl! Luckily, I was homeschooled so I was free to swim as much as I wanted. My parents decided early on to put all of us kids in a swim club called NOVA. Back then, swimming was all I knew because I was there every day from 3pm to 8pm monday through friday! Crazy, huh? Now that I look back, I didn't really care too much about competition. I distinctly remember playing cards with my friends at Junior Olympics before my heat was up. Unfortunately, I totally missed my heat and my coach was mad! I was having so much fun already that I forgot about my race and I wasn't even worried about it at all. Swimming is and always will be my favorite sport! I am not sure I'll ever go to competitive swimming again myself, but I'll cherish those moments forever. 

Butterfly is my best stroke. This might explain why I have gnarly muscular legs on my tiny body. If you've ever met me, you already know! I'm definitely not ashamed of my muscular legs, and I'd go as far to say that I'm proud of them even if that makes me cocky. God gave me a height of 5 ft 1.5 in and it's amazing how much I can do with all he has given me. I used to think of my short height as a bad thing and wanted to be taller. Then I realized there's no greater gift than the body God gave you and he has such an amazing plan that you cannot even fathom.

To all the athletes like me, remember that you are blessed to have a sport that you played and your parents were probably the reason you were able to become an athlete in the first place. Thank God I was given the amazing opportunity to be a part of a swim club team like NOVA with my siblings. I'll always remember the early mornings as a blessing because I wake up at 5:30 am automatically now.

Once a swimmer, always a swimmer

Rachel

Healthy, strong relationships: God can move mountains and bloom fragrant flowers in you.

In my wrestling and in my doubt, in my failures you won’t walk out, your great love will lead me through, you are the peace in my troubled sea. -Rend Collective

Sometimes I feel like I'm a sailor in a lighthouse. I can't visually see that God can do his will and promises to do so. I have many options and I can get a job. Money isn't the problem. It's me. I have a wall up that I leave when anyone gets too close for me. I like my bubble unburst, but God wants to pop that comfy bubble [lol, NO]. His agape love doesn't mean we can cruise our way through life. We must accept that he has a plan. I have a plan for myself. I want pursue it, but then I put up a wall again and again. I'm sorry to those who I've hurt in the past. I let you become my problem instead of my solution. And to those of you who think I'm your problem, hehe. You've got to earn my trust before I give you the key to unlock my secrets. My book is open to a certain point and then I shut it when I am persecuted for my actions. Jesus can give me water, God will carry out my plan, and I need to step in with the Holy Spirit that lives inside me wanting to bloom.

He will bloom flowers and shake mountains because God is all powerful and his strength can MOVE you and those around. He'll make you shake. This being said, I am 21, and there's no shame in waiting if you'd never dated (I don't see why that'd be fun, personally) or had a boyfriend. I haven't and I plan it on keeping it that way for a while. I have seen relationships strive, but I've also seen ones that crumble because they were too eager to fall in love. I say fall in love when you are ready (whatever that means). If you are in love right now, I am so glad, it's great to know that you have someone special in your heart (Besides, the Holy Spirit who is always dwelling in you). To all singles like me, God has someone special for you out there, and unfortunately he's not going to put a red arrow pointing towards them. Respectively, I look up to my parents and siblings to see strong relationships because I care for them dearly and they have shown me more love than I could see with my own eyes.

Here's the uncertainty and joy that God has a plan for all of us, Rachel

Note: Agape love means that no matter what you say or do, respectively, God gives it freely to us and what we decide to do with that love is up to us (yikes, I know, that's scary).

{love is knowing you’re wrong and wanting to change

that, these siblings let me embrace who I am, and call

me out when I said things that hurt or surprise them.}

~~~ Joel & Kelsey may be busy

(I mean, their life is freaking rad). I can
email, text, or call them & they answer no matter
what. Really? That’s love. Kelsey has a baby girl 
growing inside her right now. Wow. ~~~

[sweet message I got from my brother Joel last summer. 

I was crying then and I’m crying as I post this because 

my heart is so full and I am so grateful for him.]

~I get to enjoy adventures as an individual right now and someday

I will do those with someone else as well. Er, besides God!~