John 4 Jesus said to her, Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
The mothers have informed me that my name is Kurdistani. Wow, I had no idea :) Its meaning is, a well of water. The thought of that makes me happy. Never am I more conscious of water than when I am here.
Our spring of water welling up is in the form of a peson. A part of the trinity; our Helper, the Holy Spirit.
So this morning in the Shevet Achim garden, I am thinking of why Jesus would refer to the Helper as a well of living water. Maybe because, especially here in Israel, nothing survives without water. With light from the sun, wamth from the earth and water from the heavens almost anything will grow.
Every time I come to Shevet Achm this courtyard garden becomes more mature, more beautiful. Someone is taking the time to water and because of that people are spending time here. The porch has been repaired. The walkway has been cemented in place. New plants are flourishing in pots and in the earth. There is even garden art now. A beautiful old arched window frame with blue shutters fits in perfectly here.
This morning we decided that instead of our usual meeting and worship time indoors that we would meet for breakfast and worship in the garden. Yay!
Laura and I walked across the street to the bakery for chocolate, cinammon and sweet cheese pastry. We brought out the tablecloth from the dining room to the outdoor table and set up a breakfast table that included pastry, pita, hummus, coffee, tea, bananas, apples and fresh figs. And Ryan, Mary, Laura, Gaddy and I had a beautiful, bountiful breakfast in the garden of our Lord. We took turns reading Scripture and planned our day. Perfection.
After some household chores I see that Ryan has moved his homework outside to the garden and I join him in this quiet place to write this blog. And the verse comes to mind, You will be like a well watered garden.
We carry in our lives the very fragrance of the Lord. We bear His own image. Sprinkled by His blood. Filled with His living water. A reflection of His own heart.
I want my life to mimic what I have found in this small oasis in Jerusalem. I want others to be drawn to the well of living water that lives within me. I want to offer comfort like shade. Beauty like bouganvillea. Aroma like lavender. Freshness of mint. Sweetness of figs. I want to be an oasis in this place.
Father, teach me. I have none of this within my flesh. Teach me to breathe out Your Holy Spirit. Alive and living in me. May I live close enought to You to carry Your frangrance. To bear Your image. To be a real well of water springing up. Just like my Kurdistani name. Just like my Jerusalem garden.
;-)
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