Her big brown eyes looked up at me with an expression that tore my heart into pieces. I’ve never seen a little girl with such deep despair that she couldn’t even crack a smile. Her yellow flowered dress had begun to turn brown from the numerous times it had been worn that week. I watched as she continuously scratched her little body, covered in bug bites from head to toe.
Her name was Maria. She was 3 years old and was always accompanied by her older sister Paula. At 9 years old, Paula, was more of a mother to Maria than a sister. She was also more like an adult than a little girl, typical for all the indigenous children living in Comarca. By the age of 14, most girls are already pregnant. If not, then they are probably raising their younger siblings as their own.
I watched Paula as she tended to her little sister’s every need. Halfway through our kids program they both walked down to the creek. Interested in what they were doing, I watched as Paula cupped the bacteria infested water from the creek into her filthy hands and held it up toward Maria’s face. As if they had done this a million times, Maria tipped her head down and began to drink the contaminated water.
Cringing at the thought of drinking from a creek filled with trash and waste, I then looked down at my fresh, clean drinking water and began to pray. As I began to thank God for never having to drink dirty water from a creek, mid prayer I realized that I actually have.
I used to drink bacteria-infected water everyday. I used to drink the water that makes a person sick to their stomach. Not because I had to like Maria and Paula but because I chose to.
While searching for my identity in the world…While I was listening to the lies over the truth of Jesus…I chose to drink dirty water. I basically took a big gulp of mud when I had purified water sitting right in front of my face. I was going out and getting drunk. I was setting my goals on money and status. I was investing my time in this world instead of investing my time in Jesus Christ, the only water that brings life. The dirty water I was trying to get filled up by was actually making me sick, similar to the Comarca creek water’s effect on the children.
Bringing clean water to the kids in Comarca, we told them that God loves them and wants to have a relationship with them. We told them about His unfailing love and His beautiful grace. God will clean out their hearts. Like He washes away our sins, He will flush out that infection caused by the dirty creek water. The infection that we brought upon ourselves when we chose to drink from the water of this world.
Jesus provides us all with good clean water and He offers it to us daily.
God is the almighty healer. He brought life-giving water through Jesus Christ that brings both hope and joy. He gives us new life and will sustain us! All we have to do is drink from Him. He is holding the water in His hands. All we have to do is choose to drink it. We have to make the choice to spend time with Him and read His word. We have to make the choice to worship and praise Him everyday.
What kind of water are you drinking? Have you tasted the life-giving water of Jesus?
Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
Psalm 34:8
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