Learning to Sink or Swim

We are in the middle of INTENSE, daily swimming lessons. Our instructor uses the Australian Method, which is code for throw them in over and over again.
I am not kidding.
Needless to say, I do not have any pictures of our lessons, but this is K practicing swimming at home before we started lessons...

and this is how she looked as I tried to get her to walk from the car to the pool area for our lesson...

It reminds me of an old Allen Levi song about a baby bird: "I am learning to fly on a windy day, certain there must be a better way. I know it's been said no pain no gain, but I feel like I am stuck in a hurricane, just learning to fly on a windy day."

I don't really intend for this post to become a debate about swimming methods, but instead about the tough parenting decisions of making/allowing your children to be afraid (even terrified) in the short-term if it is for their long-term good. As I hand them over to their wonderful, patient instructor they are screaming, protesting, pleading with me to not make them do it...but I do, because I love them. My fear of them drowning for lack of survival skills trumps their fear of the water.

I can imagine it is similar with our Father in heaven as we are in the midst of frightening circumstances, begging Him to save us. He sees the big picture, while we just see the circumstances. Sometimes, even though we don't understand it, "handing us over" is for our ultimate safety.