The Pool and God

I’m working on the pool and I’m thinking is this worth it? I spend countless hours getting the pool ready in the spring; fixing and painting the deck after a hard winter, cleaning and scrubbing the liner, and attempting to get the chemicals at appropriate levels. And for what? I can count on two hands the number of people who use the pool throughout the summer. I don’t blame them. It is, after all, an outdoor, unheated pool in northern Maine; the water is most often freezing. But I know I can’t get rid of it. The pool will always be here, because people like knowing it’s there.

In the flexuous and unpredictable way my mind works I realized, as I was vacuuming the bottom, that the pool is like God. When pressed, most people, even though they were not religious in the “ceremonial sense” (they don’t read the bible or attend church regularly), would consider themselves spiritual and would say that they believe in God. They may never pray. They may never seek His guidance, but they want Him to be there, just in case. The existence of the pool is the same. Most will never use it, but the pool will always be here, because people like knowing it’s there.

I’m not a water person and so I never use the pool. Even in the most sweltering times I would never seek it’s cool, clear waters for salvation; it’s not my way. And as much as I complain, I would never deny or denigrate others who need to immerse themselves in the pool to restore and revive their souls. Ultimately, if only one person needs the pool or thinks they need the pool, then it’s worth it. The pool will always be here, because people like knowing it’s there.