“But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
John 4:14
Last Wednesday afternoon I was sitting outside in the grass listening to some worship music and journaling, trying to process a difficult team meeting that had just taken place and some other things. I’m pretty much in my own thoughts and just journaling away when I look up and see a woman. I didn’t notice her walking up. All of a sudden she was just there. I’m guessing that she was somewhere in her 50s. Her skin was leathered by the sun. Her teeth were bad or missing, and her clothes were worn and dirty. She had a satchel of sorts around her, for gathering things I’m guessing. She also had a large, clear empty bottle in her hands. She spoke not a word of English, but I gathered that she wanted me to fill her bottle with water. She sat down on a bench out of the sun underneath a tree while I went inside to fill her bottle with clean water.
I told a couple of teammates what I was doing, and they suggested that I take her a piece of our fruit as well so I grabbed and apple for her on my way out. She stood up as I approached her and gladly received the water and the apple from me. She thanked me in Romanian, “mulÅ£umesc”(thank you is one of the few phrases/words that I can understand). She smiled at me and then reached into her pants pocket and pulled out a handful of sunflower seeds for me. I cupped my hands to receive the gift and then she reached in to get me another handful. Shortly afterwards she turned and walked back out into the field.
As she was walking away I began to pray for her. I couldn’t verbally tell her how much Jesus loved her. I couldn’t tell her that she is treasured by the King of Kings, that she is the apple of His eye or that the Son of God died for her. But I could pray. So that’s what I did as she walked out into the sunny field and met up with 2 other people. Sometimes all we can do is give a smile, a cup of water and cover someone in prayer. We have to trust Jesus with the rest. This story kept coming to my mind:
“ ‘For I [Jesus] was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink’…‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?’… ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ ”
That makes me smile. I love it. I love that that happened. I love that this is just the beginning.
THIS IS REAL LIFE
