2010: a gift from god
“Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14)
Ah Jesus, the Confounding One. Perplexes his disciples by mingling with a Samaritan woman. Taking the woman on a theological mind-trip, then revealing to her that he is indeed the One. Here’s a man who seems to live by his own rules. Only, he seems governed by a spirit of revolution, of change, of love for those considered outcasts. No wonder he confounds those around.
And he’s still causing many to scratch heads in the 21st century. Take this verse about the gift of most-awesome water. Jesus says that if you drink his water, take his gift of life, you will never thirst. You will never feel unsatisfied about life, never yearn for something else to fill that emptiness inside. You’ll find a wellspring of freshness and inspiration bursting forth, never lacking, always in abundance.
Never thirst? Does he understand that living thirsty is a core part of who we are, of who I am? Aren’t we all yearning for something - belonging, significance, to be loved, to be special? I know so much of my make-up is built on a hunger for more, for something meaningful, for ventures of passion and imagination and wonder that makes me echo deep within, “Today’s the first day of the rest of my life.” To not thirst, I feel, is to stagnate.
But maybe I’m searching for the Big Bang. That one cataclysmic event or moment that will forever fulfil that thirsty heart. And maybe, what I’m looking for isn’t an event.
It’s not a moment.
I should be looking for a gift.
A gift I have no control over. A gift that, at a certain point, stops becoming about my wants and plans, and starts morphing into a being entirely of his making. A gift that’s waiting to be unwrapped everyday, that arrives in the form of a person, a word, a favour, an act of love, a call. It’s a gift from God, a gift of God.
As I enter 2010, I know I have desires aplenty. I long to sink my teeth into work I’m proud of, eager to enter adventures that both excite and scare me. Yet there’s a sense that this year is, above all, a gift from God. It’s like He’s excited to surprise me with what’s in store, wants to see the choices I make at each bend, is waiting to see what this child is capable of. He’s entrusting me with 365 days - 365 opportunities to walk freely, live simply, love deeply. 365 gifts waiting my arrival.
But oh Father, I’ll fall. Many times, I’ll forget this year was your gift to me. I’ll treat it with contempt, discard it because of disappointments. All I ask, oh God, is in those times, lead me. Remind me of your grace that covers me. Let my heart be, if not pure, at least be soft.
Lord, I thank You for crafting a journey so filled with uncertainty, that so little is set in stone. It’s a journey of trust and courage. And I couldn’t do it alone. No way.
You always shower me with gifts I don’t deserve. And it’s beautiful.
2010: a gift from God. Thank You. Amen.
