I can't wait to give my boys a taste of dirty water. NO typo here. I really hope and pray they get to see a world outside their own for the sake of their souls, and that may mean they drink dirty, unfiltered, H2O. Silas informed me the other day (as I was kindly refilling his reusable water bottle) that I should be using the water that comes from the fridge, not the sink (which is where I've always filled my own cup). To which I responded, there's nothing wrong with our sink water. We live in a blessed country with an abundance of clean drinking water; other places in the world lack any water, let alone clean water in their home.
It is certainly possible to comprehend and care for the lost and hurting without ever leaving your hometown, but it is increasingly hard to understand our plague of plethora in the western world without experiencing real poverty. I didn't see any real poverty until I was in Haiti after my Honeymoon, but thankfully (and I am very thankful) my parents pinched pennies most of my early childhood. Too often parents are trying to save and secure a financial future before even having kids. There's nothing wrong with the motive to provide, but there's a real problem when materialism and a life of comfort replace a heart for heavenly treasures and a trust in a Great Provider. When we are saving everything for the future, we neglect the One who saves us.
Raising kids is similar to living in a parched dryland...
I hike a tremendously long and arduous mountain to get to a natural spring whose water tastes so satisfying, so pure, so fulfilling that it's worth every second of that hard hike. But then I have to go back down that mountain, which seems equally as difficult. Filling my bucket gives way to very difficult moments on the trail, but the sweetness and goodness of the water is worth the trek back and forth. So I keep doing it. Sure I could drink the dirty, unappealing water from my local tap, and keep living a life full of selfish satisfaction without responsibility, but when I realize everything worth anything takes going through the hard, I want that journey. This is why Jesus refers to himself as "living water." Once you've tasted and seen how good life is with him, you are only satisfied with Him. The life you led before knowing Him never quenches your thirst. Only God's perfect son, perfect living water, can satisfy our souls.
Jesus said, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life" (John 4:14).
Little Levi seems to be thirsty for more water these days as he practices rock climbing in therapy. As he levels out on his own mountain ledges, we patiently press on toward an unknown goal, trusting only the foot and hand placements of that day. There are bad spills and slow downs, but he increases his pace as his confidence increases. Currently his favorite non-dangerous pastime is snapping photos with my phone. Thanks for sipping that water Levi. You'll learn to gulp it one day!
Photo cred: Levi Joe...
~Water Buster
It is certainly possible to comprehend and care for the lost and hurting without ever leaving your hometown, but it is increasingly hard to understand our plague of plethora in the western world without experiencing real poverty. I didn't see any real poverty until I was in Haiti after my Honeymoon, but thankfully (and I am very thankful) my parents pinched pennies most of my early childhood. Too often parents are trying to save and secure a financial future before even having kids. There's nothing wrong with the motive to provide, but there's a real problem when materialism and a life of comfort replace a heart for heavenly treasures and a trust in a Great Provider. When we are saving everything for the future, we neglect the One who saves us.
Raising kids is similar to living in a parched dryland...
I hike a tremendously long and arduous mountain to get to a natural spring whose water tastes so satisfying, so pure, so fulfilling that it's worth every second of that hard hike. But then I have to go back down that mountain, which seems equally as difficult. Filling my bucket gives way to very difficult moments on the trail, but the sweetness and goodness of the water is worth the trek back and forth. So I keep doing it. Sure I could drink the dirty, unappealing water from my local tap, and keep living a life full of selfish satisfaction without responsibility, but when I realize everything worth anything takes going through the hard, I want that journey. This is why Jesus refers to himself as "living water." Once you've tasted and seen how good life is with him, you are only satisfied with Him. The life you led before knowing Him never quenches your thirst. Only God's perfect son, perfect living water, can satisfy our souls.
Jesus said, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life" (John 4:14).
Little Levi seems to be thirsty for more water these days as he practices rock climbing in therapy. As he levels out on his own mountain ledges, we patiently press on toward an unknown goal, trusting only the foot and hand placements of that day. There are bad spills and slow downs, but he increases his pace as his confidence increases. Currently his favorite non-dangerous pastime is snapping photos with my phone. Thanks for sipping that water Levi. You'll learn to gulp it one day!
Photo cred: Levi Joe...
~Water Buster
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