Great White Sharks

A few days ago I shared a story, "Sugar Cookies", which was used as a life lesson during the commencement exercises at the Univ. of Texas this year.  It was a part of the commencement address given by Naval Commander Wm. H. McRaven, a graduate of UT, and the Former Commander of the US  Special Operations Command.  He was a Navy Seal.  In his address he offered 10 different aspects of Seal Training (known to be one of, if not the toughest of military training programs in existence) that relate to everyday life.

Every exercise during Seal Training is purposely meant to break the men going through the training.  This is how the Seal teams are made....only the most determined, physically fit, dedicated, resilient, and toughest make it through.  The weeding out process is brutal and very thorough.  One of the exercises in the later stages of the very long training process is "swim with the sharks"....the great white sharks to be exact. 

The men are taken out to sea to an area known to be heavily populated by sharks, and have to jump ship into the water infested with these sharks.  Failure to complete the swim means you are no longer in training to be a Seal.  Here is what they are taught before jumping in with the sharks:

• if a shark starts to circle you, you don't turn around
• you hold your ground
• you do not act afraid
• and if one comes at you, you face it, ball up your fist, and punch him hard in the nose
• they will turn and swim away

There are a lot of sharks in our world.  They come in all shapes and forms.  The single most difficult shark we have to deal with in our lives as men, husbands, and fathers is the problem of sin in our lives.  And our best way of dealing with that shark is to face it and don't back down.