Swimming Upstream

Calvin waited with his father at the airport. Soon they were greeting their friend Mr. Sato, who had come from Japan to visit.When they arrived home, Mr. Sato handed Calvin a package. Calvin eagerly opened it, but he wasn't sure what it was. "I'll help you put that together," Mr. Sato said. "If it's okay with your dad, we can go out to the backyard and assemble it now.""Sure," said Dad, so they went out and got busy fitting pieces together. When it was finished, three plastic fish billowed in the wind at the end of a bamboo pole."In Japan we have a special day for children," Mr. Sato told them. "We set up a pole with a fish--a carp like this--waving from it. The carp is a determined fish. It swims upstream and overcomes obstacles. One of the things we teach our children is to be brave and strong like that." Mr. Sato paused. "But many kids in Japan don't know they need Jesus," he added sadly. "They don't know they need Him to set them free from sin and make them strong enough to swim upstream and do what's right even if other kids don't." He smiled at Calvin. "I'm glad you know Jesus, Calvin. I hope you'll remember to trust Him to give you the strength you need to swim against the current."When Calvin got into bed, he thought about the carp swimming upstream. I wonder if I'd be able to swim upstream if my friends tried to talk me into doing something I know I shouldn't, he thought. Some of the things we've been doing lately haven't been all that good, but I don't want them to think I'm a wimp. He was still wondering about it when he fell asleep.At school the next day, his friend Grant approached him. "Hey, some of us are gonna skip gym class and walk over to the park. Mr. Tillman never takes attendance, so no one will know. You in?"Calvin took a deep breath and said a silent prayer. Then he shook his head. "No, I'm not going to do stuff like that anymore." There, I said it! he thought. Thanks, Jesus, for helping me swim upstream.-Matilda H. Nordtvedt