Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming . . .

Watching Finding Nemo tonight, and it seems so appropriate for recovery/rehab. Talk about a great message of keeping on!

I'm reading Romans 5 today, about our position in Christ. We can rejoice in suffering, because of our position. Verses 3-5 include:

because suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character and character hope. And hope does not disappoint us.

Hope.

Just think about what you can accomplish if you have those things: perseverance, character and hope. It's like the triumverate of success! If you can keep hopeful, if you can persevere, and if you can stay strong in your character, you can do just about anything.

You can swim through the ocean, against all odds, and find your lost fish-son, you can recover from painful injury, you can survive terrible loss and sadness . . . and you can deal with disappointments in life.

Now, add in the amazing strength you can find in partnering with God, the creator of the universe. Relying on that relationship we have (or can have) with God through the gift of grace in Christ's sacrifice can add to your strength, build up your hope on a dreary day, and help you see the possibilities of hope.

Here's the rest of this incredible verse:

hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

So, in the words of Dory, the fish with short-term memory loss, I will just keep swimming, swimming, swimming . . .

(Thanks to Maggie for sharing this verse with me on gtalk today)