I thought I had killed it. I thought it was dead.
Two years ago, I bought a dogwood to plant on the north side of the house, just outside my bedroom window. I had waited a long time to plant it. I waited until the flowering pear and the ornamental plum were tall enough to give it the necessary shade in the hot summer. Dogwoods don’t do well in extreme heat and direct sunlight, so really not the best tree to plant in my area, BUT I wanted one, so . . .
However, I had my angles all wrong and there had been a gap . . . between the house and those trees, and the summer sun beat directly down on that young tree.
I shielded it with a shade sail, but it still withered away. I had killed it . . . or so I thought.
But I hadn’t. In my worry over conserving water, I had “starved” my little tree of what it needed most—water. I just hadn’t watered it enough.
We are no different. Though it really depends on the conditions, most experts say that while humans can live up to two months without food, they can survive only a few days without water. While our total body is roughly 60% water, our major organs (liver, lungs, heart, kidneys, brain) start at 70-75% water (liver) and work up to 80-85% (brain). (MedicalNewsToday)
It is no wonder then that Jesus uses the imagery of water to convey the importance of a relationship with him. When he encounters a woman at a well who has used the world’s “water” in order to find satisfaction and is left wanting, he does not leave her hopeless. Instead he offers himself, the living water, the only “water” that will sustain us in all ways, at all times.
While we deal with drought conditions and work to negotiate conserving water and keeping our plants alive, it is comforting to know that spiritually we don’t have to walk this tight line. So if you feel yourself spiritually dry, return to the source of revival. Reread the words in red and renew your relationship with Jesus.
Two years ago, I bought a dogwood to plant on the north side of the house, just outside my bedroom window. I had waited a long time to plant it. I waited until the flowering pear and the ornamental plum were tall enough to give it the necessary shade in the hot summer. Dogwoods don’t do well in extreme heat and direct sunlight, so really not the best tree to plant in my area, BUT I wanted one, so . . .
However, I had my angles all wrong and there had been a gap . . . between the house and those trees, and the summer sun beat directly down on that young tree.
I shielded it with a shade sail, but it still withered away. I had killed it . . . or so I thought.
But I hadn’t. In my worry over conserving water, I had “starved” my little tree of what it needed most—water. I just hadn’t watered it enough.
We are no different. Though it really depends on the conditions, most experts say that while humans can live up to two months without food, they can survive only a few days without water. While our total body is roughly 60% water, our major organs (liver, lungs, heart, kidneys, brain) start at 70-75% water (liver) and work up to 80-85% (brain). (MedicalNewsToday)
It is no wonder then that Jesus uses the imagery of water to convey the importance of a relationship with him. When he encounters a woman at a well who has used the world’s “water” in order to find satisfaction and is left wanting, he does not leave her hopeless. Instead he offers himself, the living water, the only “water” that will sustain us in all ways, at all times.
While we deal with drought conditions and work to negotiate conserving water and keeping our plants alive, it is comforting to know that spiritually we don’t have to walk this tight line. So if you feel yourself spiritually dry, return to the source of revival. Reread the words in red and renew your relationship with Jesus.
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