What Just Happened in that Pool?
Photo: Courtesy Mike Brohard, CSU Swim and Dive
Dawson Proves Amazing is Possible - Colorado State Athletics
I’m back— but really was never gone.
🌎 The World Before the Word
February 19th, Houston Texas. A young swimmer at the last big gig of her swimming career just added tears to an already emotionally charged pool.
Erin Dawson is on the edge of her last race, and she feels the weight of her career upon her. Her qualifying round was nothing to write home about. Perceived proof she doesn’t belong here.
Final race of a college career.
Prelims barely scraped into the A final.
Mental pressure building.
Legacy hanging.
Expectation everywhere.
Teammates whisper encouragement.
Well-meaning voices say, “You can do it.”
“Ask God for it.”
“Go get it.”
It’s helpful, but old and dusty words a thousand times spoken.
The weight of outcome tightens the chest.
And then something shifts.
Not hype.
Not self-talk.
Not religious bargaining.
Just this:
“God’s will is already set in motion.
Rejoice in that alone.
Leave outcomes on the table.”
Hours of internal warfare not just soften— they are released from reality!
And she says out loud:
“I just need to swim this because I love it.”
That’s surrender.
The Old Reflex
Summary
Control the result.
Pray for the time.
Secure the performance.
Make God co-sign the outcome.
Old Covenant instinct always wants:
measurable success
visible proof
transactional blessing
“If I align correctly, I’ll get what I want.”
But that posture is still gripping the outcome.
🌿 The new Covenant Posture
Romans 12:1 does not say:
“Offer your results.”
It says:
“Offer your life.”
The surrender is not:
“Help me win.”
It is:
“Whatever comes, I am already Yours.”
When she released the outcome, she was free.
She didn’t swim to qualify.
She swam in love.
And freedom unlocked performance.
Not because surrender manipulates God.
But because surrender removes fear.
📜 The Word
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.”
— Colossians 3:23
And deeper still:
“Not my will, but yours be done.”
— Luke 22:42
That’s the pool deck theology.
Not defeat.
Not passivity.
Alignment.
🤵 Pastoral Word
The Outcome
From 8th to 3rd in a come from behind swim miracle.
NCAA qualifying time.
Best 400 IM of her life not just time— formation!
But here’s the real miracle:
She swam free.
The time was the byproduct.
The surrender was the victory.
🙏 Let's Pray
Lord, release my grip on outcomes.
Teach me to love the calling more than the result.
Let surrender free what fear has bound.
May you walk into your next moment free from the weight of securing it.
May you release the need to control what is not yours to command.
May surrender loosen the grip of fear and restore joy to your calling.
Whatever lies ahead — meeting, race, conversation, decision — may you enter it not striving for worth, but resting in it.
May you discover that when outcomes are left in God’s hands, your heart becomes lighter and your steps more sure.
And may you move today not trying to prove anything, but simply loving what you have been given to do — trusting that what unfolds is already held in wiser hands than your own.
Amen.
🔥 Carry this With You Today
Release the outcome. Swim in love.