When my children’s participation on the swim team ended, I thought that chapter of my life had forever closed. Never once did I think of grandchildren.

I’m back at swim team practice, this time with my granddaughter, Adeline. I usually bring a book to read, but I prefer to watch her and mentally file images of the first time I saw her swim the length of the pool, the look on her face when she gets to do the backstroke and her determination to learn the breaststroke.

As these wonderful memories are settling into my mind, a scene from a summer past is evoked. In it, my daughter Victoria is 5 years old.

Having taught her to swim the year before, her grandfather confidently sat on a lounge chair to watch Victoria jump into the pool. She jumped in, but never surfaced.

Her 7-year-old cousin, Tiffani, grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the ladder as her grandfather dove in and made, in his words, a heroic rescue. (If you don’t believe me, just ask him about it and he will describe it in great detail.)

Once on the safety of the concrete deck, he asked Victoria, “Did you forget how to swim?”

“I just forgot one part.”

“Yes,” her oldest sister Monique said. “You remembered to bring your beach bag, your towel, your goggles and your sunscreen. You just forgot the main part, you forgot how to actually swim!”

I have sometimes forgotten the main part.

I remember to go to church, to pray, to read the Word, to tithe, to worship … to do the things expected of a Christian. But what about the most important part?

When Jesus was asked to name the greatest commandment, He replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37,38)

I use 1 Corinthians 13 as my checklist. Love is patient, kind, doesn’t envy, or boast; it isn’t proud, rude, self-seeking, or easily angered. There’s more. Love keeps no record of wrongs, doesn’t delight in evil, but rejoices with truth. Love always protects, trusts, hopes, perseveres and never fails.

Victoria’s PawPaw didn’t hesitate to jump in and save her when she was drowning. I pray that when I forget the greatest commandment that God will jump in, take me aside and remind me how to love.

Ronny Michel may be reached at rmichel@rtconline.com.