Fantasies of Water
Forgive me for a bit of babbling.
I am quite dehydrated. My skin is dry, wrinkly, and chapped. My mouth becomes tacky within moments of not having some fluid therein. My surgery has made it so that I must slowly sip my water, lest I end up being quite nauseated. In the past few days I got sick and my water intake dropped dramatically.
Now, I fantasize about water…feeling trapped by my limitation which prohibits me from throwing down a tall cool 16 oz glass of clean water in a few seconds. Instead, I sit here and sip, sip, sip. But, while I do, I dream.
There are so many places along the Skykomish river valley here in which pristine flows of crystal clear water cascade over smooth rocks into gorgeous blue-green pools, that my memory of them allows for me to be mystically transported there - swimming in the pools and allowing the cool refreshing and DELICIOUS waterfall to anoint and fill me. Daily, I find myself turning the water of my showers to as cold as I can stand and then drifting away to my river fantasy. My wife wonders why my showers have become so lengthy.
Recently we went to visit the local Salmon Hatchery and I spent a good deal of time overlooking the smolt rearing pools in which a large 8” in diameter hose delivered a FULL flow of crystal clear water into the fish crowded containers. I longed to be under that stream of water, which would have certainly driven me to the ground…but it looked sooooo good.
So, as you can see, I have given a lot of thought to water lately. I began to consider all of the Biblical allusions to water and as I did, their significance seemed to come more alive to me. You see, we here in America have never truly thirsted, have we? But 2000 plus years ago in an arid environment, you can bet that those people knew thirst. No doubt many died from it. Though my minor “thirst-problem” is relatively insignificant, it has made me think about the big picture involving water.
Psalm 1:3
He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.
Psalm 23:2
He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.
Psalm 42:1
As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God.
Psalm 63:1
O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water.
Psalm 65:9
You visit the earth and water it, You greatly enrich it; The river of God is full of water; You provide their grain, For so You have prepared it.
And of course:
John 4:7-15
A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink." For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.
Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, "Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."
The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?"
Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."
The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw."
John 3:5
Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
When Joseph, my new son, is thrice dipped into the waters of Holy Baptism, I really wish I could go with him. I really, really, really do. I think I am beginning to understand…if only the physical thirst I have which leads to fantasy could be as powerful as the thirst I have for God.
Forgive me for a bit of babbling.
I am quite dehydrated. My skin is dry, wrinkly, and chapped. My mouth becomes tacky within moments of not having some fluid therein. My surgery has made it so that I must slowly sip my water, lest I end up being quite nauseated. In the past few days I got sick and my water intake dropped dramatically.
Now, I fantasize about water…feeling trapped by my limitation which prohibits me from throwing down a tall cool 16 oz glass of clean water in a few seconds. Instead, I sit here and sip, sip, sip. But, while I do, I dream.
There are so many places along the Skykomish river valley here in which pristine flows of crystal clear water cascade over smooth rocks into gorgeous blue-green pools, that my memory of them allows for me to be mystically transported there - swimming in the pools and allowing the cool refreshing and DELICIOUS waterfall to anoint and fill me. Daily, I find myself turning the water of my showers to as cold as I can stand and then drifting away to my river fantasy. My wife wonders why my showers have become so lengthy.
Recently we went to visit the local Salmon Hatchery and I spent a good deal of time overlooking the smolt rearing pools in which a large 8” in diameter hose delivered a FULL flow of crystal clear water into the fish crowded containers. I longed to be under that stream of water, which would have certainly driven me to the ground…but it looked sooooo good.
So, as you can see, I have given a lot of thought to water lately. I began to consider all of the Biblical allusions to water and as I did, their significance seemed to come more alive to me. You see, we here in America have never truly thirsted, have we? But 2000 plus years ago in an arid environment, you can bet that those people knew thirst. No doubt many died from it. Though my minor “thirst-problem” is relatively insignificant, it has made me think about the big picture involving water.
Psalm 1:3
He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.
Psalm 23:2
He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.
Psalm 42:1
As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God.
Psalm 63:1
O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water.
Psalm 65:9
You visit the earth and water it, You greatly enrich it; The river of God is full of water; You provide their grain, For so You have prepared it.
And of course:
John 4:7-15
A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink." For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.
Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, "Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."
The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?"
Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."
The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw."
John 3:5
Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
When Joseph, my new son, is thrice dipped into the waters of Holy Baptism, I really wish I could go with him. I really, really, really do. I think I am beginning to understand…if only the physical thirst I have which leads to fantasy could be as powerful as the thirst I have for God.
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