Water, water everywhere

Water water everywhere and not a drop to drink. My Dad used to quote that line from Coleridge’s Rime of the  Ancient Mariner, and it always echoes in my mind when the rain falls as it has here over the last few days, puddling and flooding fields all around us.

As we approach Thanksgiving, though, I think with gratitude that yes, there is water everywhere here, and there is lots of clean water to drink.

The basis of life, denied to so many across the globe where fires rage in drought-stricken lands, or where annual rainfall has reduced and whole populations ration what water there is.

I will give you water that bubbles up from within, Jesus said to the woman at the well, a woman whose life was parched in more than a physical way. Jesus saw her deep need for soul-drenching refreshment. He sees our deep need for the same thing, whether we are richly blessed with rainfall or not. The drought of our souls does not reflect the amount of water in reservoirs or wells. It is consequent to the frenetic pace, the immersion in a materialist world, the pressure to achieve and acquire.

You will never thirst, Jesus promises. All we have to do is come to the source of the water and drink deeply.

Times of Refreshing

Spent a couple of hours in my overgrown garden tearing back dead daffodil leaves and opening up the roses to the sun and fresh air. All kinds of snails lurking in the shadows but now exposed and vulnerable...

There’s been a lot of rain apparently while I’ve been away, which has encouraged growth spurts mostly amongst the weeds. I’m just back from a drought-area, where lawns are turning brown and even the weeds are dying.

Water. Such a basic resource which we in the cooler and moister climes deride and take for granted. But all around me is verdant, green farmland, bursting with life. Even if some of it is monopods, still ...

Tomorrow is Pentecost. Times of refreshing from our God. Good and plentiful soft rains to foster growth in my spirit. Alert to the possibility of weeds sprouting as well. So grateful that God is the gardener. 

Excited to be heading to the Cherish conference in Leeds this week. Looking forward to the refreshment of losing myself in worship and praise.

Keep up your fluids

Apparently the spine’s health and flexibility depends at least a bit on its being properly lubricated. 

Meaning we should all be drinking plenty of water – 2 litres per day – to keep it in optimum health.

One more thing to try to remember to do. Maybe just after I’ve finished the Pilates routine...

Jesus said that if we go to him and ask him for water he will give us a spring that bubbles up to eternal life, and we’ll never thirst again (spiritually speaking). 

Makes me think that if we don’t drink the water he gives, our spiritual spines will begin to creak and groan and slip disks. We need to rehydrate from Jesus in order to maintain flexible spiritual strength, or we run great risks. 

Spiritual dehydration looks like burn-out. It looks like despair. It looks like apathy, distraction, and loss of faith if it goes on too long. 

I’m not sure how I can measure 2 litres of Jesus water but I guess that sitting in his presence can top it up, and I should know when I feel full up.

Had a good day of filling up today between my own time with Jesus, then church, and then The Well.

Tomorrow, though, is another day!

Brave

Life is a challenge. Whatever your circumstances, there are always problems popping up and it’s easy to give way to anxiety and sink into pity or even despair. Problems can paralyze, but God has not given us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of sound mind and of courage.

A few years ago we were in Australia at the Great Barrier Reef. Twenty-five miles offshore, out of sight of land, we were going to snorkel.

I’m not a good swimmer. I’m anxious when out of my depth and more than an arm’s length from the side of a pool. But I desperately wanted to enjoy one of God’s most extravagant creations, so during the twenty-five mile boat trip out to the reef, I was quiet, sitting and praying that the Lord would not just help me do it, but enable me to enjoy it.

What freedom! I absolutely loved it. The beauty of the coral below the water; the variety of gloriously coloured marine life and the ever changing terrain below water has to be experienced. Truly a wonder of the world. 

As a hurricane was on the way the waves were increasingly choppy, so when I lifted my face to the surface of the water, I got splashed and bobbed around. But then, lying my face flat again against the surface of the water, I became part of a peaceful and restful underwater wonderland. 

The water is splashing me in the face these days. A few things are causing turbulence. But when I remember that experience, I am encouraged to metaphorically put my face to the surface and allow the peace of God to draw me in. 

When I pull back out again, though the water may still be splashing me in the face, my spirit is calm and I can embrace life with courage, trusting in God’s faithfulness and love. 

I pray that whatever challenges you are facing, God will make you brave, too.

Drought?

I can’t remember the last time it rained. 

 

That is a rare sentence to utter in Scotland.

The paths which Dusty and I tread, usually shod in wellies because of the mud, are dry and cracked. I can walk in trainers again. Never sandals – there are ticks in that grass, deposited by the lovely deer which roam free hereabouts. The deer are lovely; the ticks are not.

The postie mentioned the other day that the weeding was easy in his garden right now because they’re just not growing. I’d not noticed – we have a pretty big garden and there are always weeds pretty much everywhere. The wild look. Partially tamed; mostly wild. 

Anyway, then I did notice, that not only are the weeds looking stunted, so are the carrots. And peas. And beans. 

Everything needs a drink.

So, I guess the writer of Ecclesiastes should have added another line to his famously poetic to-do list.

...a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot...

Here he should have inserted “ ... a time to water and a time to refrain from watering ...”

The message of Ecclesiastes is balance, and wisdom to discern what time it is. 

I don’t need God to tell me to water my flowers and veggies. But maybe, on this occasion, I needed the postie.

That’s another thing I love about this world. We were created to depend on God; we were also created to live in community and help one another. 

Most of the rest of the Bible tells us how to try to do that.

Water Power

On a hot summer’s day, it is pure bliss to leap into the cool waters of a swimming pool or lake. Or to stand in a shower and let the refreshing drops drench from above. As it gently soaks us, the water strokes our skin gently, belying its power.

But walk along the beach and pick up a smooth stone, as we did at Stonehaven last week, and wonder,how many eons did it take for the pounding waves to reduce what was once rough and sharp to something so smooth? 

The power of water to smooth away our sharpness. I’m looking at a painting made by Fiona, which she painted as a sort of prayer picture. There is a small body of water at the top, flowing out from between two golden gates and down, down, gathering strength and power as it goes, widening into a life-giving torrent as it reaches the silhouettes of people standing with upraised arms.

Thirsty people, just waiting to receive the life giving waters from the gates of heaven itself. The refreshing waters of life promised by Jesus. Showers of mercy and grace. Coming to inundate those who wait on the Lord.

Thirsty people. Weary people. Know anybody like that?