The other day, something in my yard made me stop in my tracks. The sight of it was a word picture, that I instantly understood. I don't know if it was a divine whispering, or if my heart just needed to understand the implications.
Either way, it doesn't matter. I've been thinking about it ever since.
The thing I saw in our yard wasn't anything out of the ordinary--apart from the way it grabbed my attention. It was a sprinkler, spraying water onto dry grass.
Up close, I might not have even noticed anything particular...
But, from a distance, it struck me right away: That after this summer, I feel like the brown, dry grass. And what I want is to feel renewed and refreshed like the light green grass.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.
- Psalm 1:3
I understand that this summer was crazy and stressful for more than one reason. But, if I were to be honest with you, I bet it could have been less stressful if I had been planted closer to the streams of water.
Like the brown grass in the picture above, I was close to the streams of water--I work at a Christian summer camp. I saw the streams of water refreshing those around me. I saw the streams of water changing lives around me. But, in the midst of all of the refreshment around me, I allowed my own soil to dry and crackle.
It's time I planted myself back beside the streams of water. Spending more time reading God's Word, nourishing my soul with the Living Water. Hearing God's Word, and letting it sink down deep. Allowing my heart to be softened by the water, changed by the water--and not closed up, resisting change with a closed heart.
Ah, cool, refreshing, life-giving Water, please rain down upon my dry and thirsty soul. Amen.
