I find it utterly interesting to watch my children grow up and learn new things. It's amazing how my seven year old daughter thinks she knows more than she does. Or maybe it's not that she thinks she knows more than she does, but that she doesn't always have the ability to apply the knowledge she has gained. She has always had an independent spirit, but she is only now beginning to learn that head knowledge does not always equate experience.
This week, Nyssa attended summer camp for the first time. She was so excited and ready to go experience the cabins, the great outdoors, the fun! She was ready for the campfires and the singalongs. Most of all, Nyssa was looking forward to swimming.
She loves the water; she loves taking baths, to the point that if I were not to keep an eye on her, she'd stay in the tub for half the day, a true woman in the making. But she has never taken swimming lessons, as I don't have a sitter for the other 3 children while I watch her at the lessons. That didn't phase her, though, she was ready to go off into the deep end.
One thing to know about my daughter is this: She is highly intellectual. She reads something once and she remembers it. She's been reading since she was 3 and has never slowed down. She's reading on a fifth grade level and absorbs every bit of it. We got a set of World Book Encyclopedias about 3 weeks ago and she's already to H. Yes, she likes to read the encyclopedia and she remembers all that she has read in it so far.
She also likes to read a book my husband bought her for Christmas: The Double Dare Book for Girls. Inside it are all sorts of "girly" facts, like knitting stitches and special recipes, fitness tips and beauty tips, things like that. Two months ago, she announced to me that she now knows how to swim. Intrigued, I asked her how as she has only been in a swimming pool a few times in her life. She stated that she read all about it in the Double Dare book. It illustrated and described the breast stroke, floating, the butterfly, and the backstroke.
She read it, therefore she knows how to do it. It is very logical reasoning to her. I gently explained to her that knowing how to do something and actually being able to do it are two different things. Her head may know all the facts, but her body has not had any experience or training. She didn't understand how, if she can read something and understand all about it, her body wouldn't automatically adjust. So, she chalked it off to me just being Mom and tucked away my reservations with the assurance that she really did know better.
Understanding my daughter's character, I told her counselor about our discussion and asked that she please keep an eye on Nyssa when she goes swimming. After all, in some pools, she can't even touch the bottom. Well, she can touch the bottom, just not at the same time as being able to breathe air. She's a tiny young 7 year old, at just around 3'6" and just under 40 lbs. Fortunately, the children are required to take a swimming test before just diving in the pool.
She came home from camp today and told me all about her week. She loved the showers, the canteen store where she could buy snacks, and the programs they held. She loved the cabins and meeting new friends; she loved that she was a part of the Pink Team with her very own pink dog tag. She also stated with a sigh that she nearly drowned twice. Alas, she learned the hard way that, as much as her mind knows how to swim, her body does not.
Before you worry, I also heard the counselor's view on the pool experience. She was right there with Nyssa, and no harm would have come to my daughter, as she was very quickly plucked up both times and set on the steps. She was even able to borrow some swim noodles to float with in the shallow end and practiced kicking her feet and holding her breath under water. All in all, Nyssa thoroughly enjoyed the pool just as much as she had the puppet shows and the overall camping experience.
My husband and I couldn't help stifle the laughter upon hearing Nyssa's experience. We had been discussing the issue all week, wondering what her reaction would be when she truly discovered the fallacy in her logic. To her credit, aside from the initial disappointment, she took it well in stride, and admitted her inabilities. She realized her inadequacies and yet realized there was something she could do to overcome them so that eventually, she will be able to swim. We were both very proud of her for that.
Yes, we eventually laughed together quietly, but I also know that even as adults we sometimes think we are ready for something until we jump in and realize that we are sinking quickly. There is no shame in admitting we can't swim, as long as we grab hold of something that helps us get back above water, evaluate the situation, and learn from our mistaken logic. When we can own up to that lack of knowledge or ability, we can then work toward equipping ourselves for next time. Yes, my daughter had a very good week at camp. She even showed me a thing or two about growing up.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Big Bang? Sure
Having four young children, it's so easy to get caught up in all the noise that goes on around me. I hear their laughter, their squabbling, their running, their jumping, and their rough-housing. I don't really hear everything around me because I tune other things out. But when all is silent, when the children are in bed, or they have been quietly playing outside, I hear the emptiness. And when, in the middle of all the stillness, something happens, I hear it pointedly.
Have you ever been awake late at night, trying to get some last minute housecleaning done while everyone else is in bed? Do you remember a time when you were putting away dishes, like a pan, and something just slipped out of your fingers? For some reason, in that instant, several other dishes chose to slide around, making a loud clanging sound that you were certain was going to wake up the entire neighborhood, or at least everyone in your home.
There has been a huge debate over the last sixty years or so between creationists and evolutionists. Creationists, those who believe that the Bible gives a true account of how the world began, who belive in Intelligent Design by an almighty creator, believe that God created the heavens and the earth. Most evolutionists believe that there was nothing and then out of nothing came this big boom, the Big Bang Theory, they call it, from whence came everything else that slowly evolved into the universe as we now see it. There are two camps of thought here, seemingly without any compromise.
But let me take you through something today, if you will allow me. I'm going to address this issue in a different light. Genesis 1:1 says, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Very clearly stated here, is the foundation for the belief that the earth was intentionally created by an almighty force. Verse 2 reads, "And the earth was without form, and void; And darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." So what you have here, from the Creationists side of view, is a beginning in which nothing existed except for God, the all-intelligent designer, who, according to this verse, created the earth and the space around it, though there was still no life upon it, nothing except for water.
Except for the differences between an intentional creation and an accidental bang, the course is the same at this point. Creationists believe there was an earth with water but no other life. Evolutionists believe there was an earth with water with no other life in the early stages as well. Let us move on to verse 3, which says, "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light."
Bang. Up until this very moment, all was silent. There was not the sound of the wind, nor of birds chirping, no voices speaking, no jets flying overhead, nothing. But then out of nowhere came this big, booming voice that just spoke the words, "Let there be light." Remember the stillness in the house? The silence? Then came the sound of the banging of pots, pans, and bowls clanging on each other and falling onto the floor. What a sudden burst of sound that must have been! So I give you two things to consider:
When all is ethereal silence and suddenly the voice of an almighty God bigger than the earth, in fact so much bigger that Isaiah 66:3 described His size as Heaven being His throne and the earth His footstool; when He speaks, you can bet your life that it's going to be the biggest bang known in the history of the universe.
Now the evolutionists would say originally that the origin of the universe can be traced back to a single primeval atom. I have no problem with that thought, either. But I have a question....where did THAT atom come from? Again, nothing comes from nothing...unless you happen to be a God who happens to specialize in that area of expertise.
Have you ever been awake late at night, trying to get some last minute housecleaning done while everyone else is in bed? Do you remember a time when you were putting away dishes, like a pan, and something just slipped out of your fingers? For some reason, in that instant, several other dishes chose to slide around, making a loud clanging sound that you were certain was going to wake up the entire neighborhood, or at least everyone in your home.
There has been a huge debate over the last sixty years or so between creationists and evolutionists. Creationists, those who believe that the Bible gives a true account of how the world began, who belive in Intelligent Design by an almighty creator, believe that God created the heavens and the earth. Most evolutionists believe that there was nothing and then out of nothing came this big boom, the Big Bang Theory, they call it, from whence came everything else that slowly evolved into the universe as we now see it. There are two camps of thought here, seemingly without any compromise.
But let me take you through something today, if you will allow me. I'm going to address this issue in a different light. Genesis 1:1 says, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Very clearly stated here, is the foundation for the belief that the earth was intentionally created by an almighty force. Verse 2 reads, "And the earth was without form, and void; And darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." So what you have here, from the Creationists side of view, is a beginning in which nothing existed except for God, the all-intelligent designer, who, according to this verse, created the earth and the space around it, though there was still no life upon it, nothing except for water.
Except for the differences between an intentional creation and an accidental bang, the course is the same at this point. Creationists believe there was an earth with water but no other life. Evolutionists believe there was an earth with water with no other life in the early stages as well. Let us move on to verse 3, which says, "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light."
Bang. Up until this very moment, all was silent. There was not the sound of the wind, nor of birds chirping, no voices speaking, no jets flying overhead, nothing. But then out of nowhere came this big, booming voice that just spoke the words, "Let there be light." Remember the stillness in the house? The silence? Then came the sound of the banging of pots, pans, and bowls clanging on each other and falling onto the floor. What a sudden burst of sound that must have been! So I give you two things to consider:
When all is ethereal silence and suddenly the voice of an almighty God bigger than the earth, in fact so much bigger that Isaiah 66:3 described His size as Heaven being His throne and the earth His footstool; when He speaks, you can bet your life that it's going to be the biggest bang known in the history of the universe.
Now the evolutionists would say originally that the origin of the universe can be traced back to a single primeval atom. I have no problem with that thought, either. But I have a question....where did THAT atom come from? Again, nothing comes from nothing...unless you happen to be a God who happens to specialize in that area of expertise.
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