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Good morning.

My love of wild swimming started when I turned 40, with the challenge to get fit without having to get sweaty. Now I’m a regular at open water events, and my enthusiasm is such that I’ve managed to drag a few friends into the water.

Once you get over the shock of the cold water it’s great fun, and on a sunny day there’s nothing better than sculling out into the middle of a loch surrounded by hills. And, of course, once you’re out you feel totally justified in scoffing as much cake as you fancy.

My efforts are nothing compared to those of Ross Edgley, who recently swam the entire UK coastline in 157 days. Perhaps because I know the effort of tackling even one mile in a wetsuit, I can’t imagine how much strength, resilience and dogged determination is required to swim almost 1800 miles in choppy conditions. It’s an incredible achievement, and there must have been points when he literally felt out of his depth.

We live in a busy, noisy, fast culture, and I wonder if the growth of interest in wild pursuits reflects a desire to escape the ping of notifications and newsfeeds. To be in a place of stillness and beauty is appealing, but inevitably the time comes to swim ashore. For me, that’s where the daily routine of reading a passage of Scripture, praying and listening for God’s voice provides a welcome stillness and space to recalibrate my life.

‘Be still and know that I am God’, says the writer of Psalm 46, in the middle of a poem that speaks of waters roaring and foaming, and mountains quaking. God, says the psalmist, is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

Father God
Help us today to find stillness and peace in the midst of the storms and pressures of life. Help us to remember that you are God when we feel out of our depth.
Amen.