Photo by Yanguang Lan
Samuel Taylor Coleridge in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner said, “Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink.” What a fate!
We had recent rains after a long dry summer. There was so much water yet you could hardly believe that the parched earth would swallow up it so quickly. The roads were flooded and inaccessible in certain areas. Creeks swelled into river within hours as record-breaking levels of rain fell, never witnessed in more than a hundred years ago.
Water is essential for life and gives life. Water can also be a destructive force and often takes life. In my own backyard, I observed how the water crystals around my pots of cycads swelled and overflowed onto the garden bed and pathway. The rain had stopped but those water crystals continued to flow out of the pots; there was just too much volume to contain it. Almost like a foetus in the womb, it will grow and grow, pushing forward until there is no more space and then, out comes that baby.
Water nourishes the body and ensures the healthy functioning of its organs. What about a healthy spirit; what is required for it to function optimally? Have you seen people who are so good to be around; when they leave, you feel so energised. On the other hand, have you been in the company of people who leave you feeling totally zapped? Proverbs 17 (NASB) shows a contrast between the upright and the wicked. Verse 22 says, “A joyful heart is good medicine, But a broken spirit dries up the bones.”
Where can we find that source to fill our hearts and heal our broken spirits? The story of the woman at the well is often recounted when talking about water that will quench so you will never thirst again – read John 4:1-26. Verse 14 (WEB) says, “but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst again; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”
When your spirit is refreshed and your soul is filled with living water, you will be like water that flows and overflows, just like those water crystals. You will be a source of blessing to others and your presence will refresh them too. ◊
Linda Pearl
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