Ignoring the Thirst

I get up again to fill my water bottle with fresh water, mentally counting how many ‘glasses’ that is so far today.

I’ve learned the hard way the cost of ignoring my body’s need for water, if I don’t stay hydrated migraines haunt me and cripple my ability to accomplish much of anything. So I keep a bottle by my side, have a checklist to make sure I’m drinking enough.

But my soul is crying out in thirst, and it’s so easy to ignore until I’m emotionally crippled, heart aching for refreshment. And I wonder why I snap for no reason, why I can’t seem to stay focused, why my heart feels tired, why my prayers have dried up like cracked soil. Without water, how can anything grow? Without His Word, how can I learn? How can I give? How can I love?

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 woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

~ John 4: 13 – 15

I can hear the desperation in her voice, because it is one I know well.

He is constantly working in us to sanctify, to wash away the dried up muck that collects and refresh us with His Love. Yet again I have become caught up in this world that does not matter, forgetting the real truth of His Word. I ache to let God choose my priorities, to walk with Him and join Him in His work. I cannot do those things without refreshing myself in His Presence and with His Word. I don’t want to be numb to my heart’s cry anymore. I want to be sensitive to His call on me, to ache to be near Him and know His voice through His Word.


Dearest One, will you join me? Today I’m in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 ^_^

The Little Things

Sometimes it amazes me how little changes can make me so excited and happy. The other day I went to Target with my monthly budget and we finally had enough extra to get something ‘frivolous’ that I had been wanting to get for about three months, drapery holdbacks. We live in an apartment and I had pinned up drapes to block out the streetlights at night, I had been using strips of ribbon pinned to the wall to tie back the drapes during the day because I love natural light. They would consistently fall out and my kitten loved to pull at the ribbons and shred them. The day I got the holdbacks I put them up as soon as I got home. I was so excited to have them up and there! I’m sure Nick thought I was crazy, but something that simple as those hooks to hold back our curtains made me so happy. It’s three days later and I still am in awe at how nice and easy it is to pull back our drapes in the morning. (silly, I know)

I honestly believe that is something that God understands. My family has been going through a rough season lately and one day I was talking with my momma and I knew she was down and discouraged. I’m a ‘have to do something to help’ kind of person and it was driving me crazy not to be there and be able to take her out for coffee or a smoothie to give her an hour or two to just relax. So instead I reminded her of all the times when God has provided those breaks completely out of the blue. When I was in junior high/high school we were going through a very hard financial time and in a three year period, my momma won three separate trips to Disneyland (my family’s *favorite* place). We had to stay at flea-ridden motels (but never took any home!) and ate food that we had packed for the trip but during those trips my parents didn’t fight, my sister and I didn’t argue (trust me, this is a miracle in and of itself at the time). We made my most treasured family memories during those trips. Some would say that it was irresponsible for my family to take some of what very little money we had to take those vacations, but I think that God knew that we *needed* that time away together.

God knows those little things that make us smile, and right when we least expect them He is more than willing to show you how much He loves you and that He’s still there. I have countless stories of those moments, and sometimes they’re bigger, like our trips to Disneyland and sometimes they’re a whisper, a butterfly flitting right by my window. I believe that God has written out His love for us in countless ways, if we just open our eyes to see them. Sometimes our hearts are so downtrodden that they’re hard to hear or see, but know that He *is* there, He promised not to abandon us and that He is always faithful. If you need encouragement or prayer, please feel free to leave a comment or send me an email (h1s.b3l0ved(at)gmail(dot)com) and I will pray for you, that God will reach out and touch you with the little things. We are never truly alone.