Living Water

by E. Saanich Musings

13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 

John 4: 13-14

Water! In Canada we completely take water for granted. My children swim in it, bathe in it, let it run in the garden while they play in it. We leave the hose running

while we wash the car. We pay no heed to the faucet that drips occasionally.
   When we're thirsty we drink
tumblers of it; when we have aches we either heat it and put it in a hot water bottle and apply it to our injury or freeze it, apply it and then throw it away when we're done.

Well my new tomatoes don't take it for granted! They do not have the ability to fetch it for themselves and without it they suffer severe consequences. I forgot to water them in the busy-ness of last week and when I finally paused to look at them, they looked very sad indeed!
     Filled with wishful thinking I gently watered them and went to bed. Much to my joy, when I came down in the morning, they had perked right up!! Now I just need to get them planted out and settled in a place rich in nourishment and regularly watered.

I can't help but look at those resilient plants and think of
ourselves. We as people go merrily along growing families, developing ourselves, reaching out but so often we forget that we need water. Not just any water, but the Water of Life that only Jesus can give us. We exhaust our resources and neglect to replenish them. Sometimes it is not until we are lank and worn out that we are aware of someone bringing us water. A gentle word of encouragement, the balm of a friend's voice or the reminder that God cares for each of us; draws us back to the source of The Water of Life that replenishes more than just our weary body. It renews our spirit and strengthens us so that once more we can grow and give and live for Christ.     
     Routine is the soil of nourishment. Our regular involvement in our Christian community brings us to a place where we find feeding, where we do not wilt or lack but where we can grow and thrive; bearing the fruits of His garden.
      And God's watering hole? Well that would be His very Word. Scripture itself is our ultimate source of water. Read it regularly, read it with a friend, study it in a group, learn its message from the
preacher on Sunday. Find ways to bump into it in your life and you
will be amazed at how often God reaches out and speaks to YOU!


Ed. note:  Diane Cunningham spends a lot of time on E. Saanich Rd. driving children to dance class, soccer practice, music lessons, Sunday School. . .   She spends some of her road time musing on God's ways.