by Wendy Gustafson
John Sanford tells a story in his book, The Kingdom Within, about the old well that stood outside the front door of his family's vacation home in New Hampshire. It was an old house (150 years old) and an equally old well, but it had always given the purest, coldest, sweetest water, even in times of drought. When the house was modernized and a new well dug for the running water, the old well was sealed over to be kept in reserve. When he opened the well several years later he found, much to his surprise, it was completely dry. It seems a well of this type is fed by tiny aquifers remaining open because of the constant flow of water through them, caused by the drawing up of water from the top of the well. When the well was not used, these tiny channels became clogged. The well was dry because it wasn't drawn from, not because there was no water.
My spiritual life gets this way sometimes. I feel dry and brittle. I feel like I have nothing to give, no resources. I feel empty. At these times, I am not a Well Being. I have not given from the top and allowed God's grace to flow in and replace what I've parted with. I've kept all my blessings in reserve, laid by for hard times. I have not remembered God's gifts were given to me to give away, and this is the way I am filled again. My pathways to God's renewing juices have gotten clogged.
Before I go bone dry, I'd better wake up and do something different. To prevent my drying out, I have to give away, draw out of myself, and give up some of the strength, blessings, and riches God has given me. I may not be able to help myself but I can help someone else. And what happens next? In flows the living water of God. I am replenished. My link to this living water stays free-flowing and open. New resources and new strength flow in to replace what has been drawn up. I feel "full-filled." It feels good.
So, even in hard times, give thanks to God. Thanksgiving is your bucket to use to draw up blessings from God. Giving thanks to God helps you identify your own strengths and your own needs. It helps you see the good in bad situations. It helps you link yourself to God and keep your aquifers open for the free flow of God's living water.
Recognize God's control of the bad times. Let God draw away your pain and fear. God will supply you with healing power and love from underneath. When your thanksgiving to God leaves your lips, wait a bit for the inflow of God's spirit into your life and self. Begin to see things, not from a dry, dim place, but from a light-filled, love-filled one. Live life giving thanks to God.
God is a deep, ever flowing, ever filling source of love and right.
Let your own well of God’s love spill over into the lives of others.
Be a Well Being. Have well-being. And thank the Lord.