Last October I moved to Charlotte to start a new job. In this process I had to go through recertification on my lifeguard license. I had been off stand for 3 months, I wasn't totally rescue ready, and it was a new place. I knew that the extra training will most definitely not hurt me. Through this process I learned some practical lessons that also can be applied spiritually...

1. Accepting correction from those who are more experienced on knowledgable really makes your life easier later.
--- this past summer my supervisors would consistently correct things they saw us doing wrong. It was annoying sometimes and sometimes seemed like overkill, but as I went through training again... It's made everything so much easier! And I was doing a better job at doing my job. Spiritual mentors are a wonderful blessing, while you should always take what you're taught and check it against the Bible... You should always be willing to listen to them and pray about what's been said.

2. It's more than okay to ask for help when you need it.
---Put the pride down. In some rescues, YOU NEED HELP! Attempting alone can cause danger to you. It can cause danger to your guest. Or if there's a worst case scenario... Getting an unconscious guest out of the water on your own: impossible. Performing effective CPR on your own: impossible. Not calling for help in that worst case can cause a guest to die in your care. (Not asking for needed help can cause spiritual death of those under your spiritual care too.)

3. No matter how much you know, or how good you are, you can always do better and know more.
---Never settle with where you are spiritually! Always strive for growth!

4. Having people to hold you accountable helps you always do better.
---The company that I was licensed through requires our supervisors to be constantly auditing us. This can involve random observations, throwing a mannequin in our zone to test our visual awareness, or even throwing themselves in for a mock drowning for a practical skills audit. But that's not it, the company itself comes and does audits, completely unannounced, acting like a guest they'll observe us for part of the day, and then reveal who they are and then do some practical audits. Sound stressful? It isn't if you're doing your job the way you're trained and the way you know you should be. It actually keeps everyone safer. Just like accountability partners keep you safer from your sin.