A Good Word Wednesday #27

Water is Life 💦🚰

How is your 2023 going so far? Off to a good start? I hope so.

So far this good year, we’ve focused on a few words: Wait and Walk. If you didn’t get a chance to read those yet, they are always available on this site.

Good Word of the Week: Water

Water is life. It’s a must have in order to survive. You can’t make it more than a few days without it. In fact, we are encouraged to drink eight glasses or more per day for good health. It is always at the top of my new year’s goals to drink more water. How about you? How do you make sure you get enough water everyday? Do you have a favorite water bottle?

I like to watch survival shows. It is fascinating to watch vulnerable humans battle all-powerful nature. In the human fight against the elements, survivalists must have reliable food sources, adequate shelter and drinkable water. They dig wells, find fresh water streams, boil whatever they can find.

When traveling abroad, I’ve had to drink bottled water many many times. If I don’t, little bugs like to camp out in my intestines and do nasty things. I’m always grateful to get back home, turn on the faucet and drink freely.

Water is also used to produce power. If you have seen a wonder like Niagara Falls, you know what I mean. When I experienced it for the first time last April, I totally understood why it is such an attraction. I took my obligatory photo with the Falls.

In the Christian life, water has a deeper meaning. (See a few of the scriptures listed below to see what I mean. There are many, many more.) In my family of faith, we use the baptismal waters to depict the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. Pastor Bryan always says at the beginning of each baptism that there isn’t anything special in those waters that change a person. Only Christ can change a life. But it’s a beautiful celebration when a new believer comes up out of the water to proclaim their new life has begun. I’ve seen people baptized in swimming pools, oceans, and big, clear plastic containers. Wherever it is, it’s always an event that is cause for celebration.

(Note: I was actually baptized twice. Once when I was six. I joined our church in Reid, Alabama because I was smart enough to know that if you did that and got dunked, you got to receive the Lord’s Supper complete with the little wafers and grape juice. I wanted in on that. My Daddy baptized me for the first time. I was a good preacher’s kid, but I was miserable for many years when I realized I had not made a genuine commitment to Christ. That got rectified when I was 14 at church camp in Arkansas. When my Daddy was about to baptize me for the second time, he whispered, “Are we sure we got it right this time?” I smiled back at him and all was well with the world. Do you have a baptism story you would like to share? )

But actually, I’m not a big fan of being in water. I’ve tried to learn to swim, but it’s not anything I’m confident about and don’t enjoy the thought of thrashing about under water and not being able to get my breath. But God, in His infinite wisdom and unknowable sense of humor, sent me to work in Indonesia, the country of 17,000 islands. Read the story below that involves water, darkness and a little boat on a big ocean.

Wednesday in the Word

“Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” John 4:10 NIV

“…he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.” Psalm 23:3

“We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Romans 6:4

Good Unseen People

Excerpt from Unseen People: Sharing Light and Life with Your Neighbors and the Nations. (To be published later this year.) On a boat… In the dark… In Indonesia

(Yes, this is me, on the left in orange with awesome windswept hair and fear on my face.)

Was this really happening? Surreal. Suspenseful. Sensory overload.

I sat in the front of the motor boat, speeding across the ocean in the waters surrounding northern Sumatra — the sea-salted wind streaming through my hair. Was it real? Was I half a world away in a small boat with eight other people headed for the shores of the big Indonesian island? The tropical beauty was too much to absorb — small green islands topped with palm trees dotted the seascape — puffy white clouds and a setting orange sun painted the western sky behind us. I stated the obvious to Katy, my fellow teammate seated beside me, “I’m on a boat… In Indonesia.” It was so hard to process the reality and believe we were there. When a brilliant rainbow formed in front of us, God seemed to proclaim, “This place is truly a treasure that I’ve created, full of people who need to know me.”

However, the mystical beauty soon faded as the sun set and we found ourselves in the dark, on the sea with only a small flashlight the boat captain used to scan the dangers directly in front of us. On a boat. In the dark. In Indonesia.

I had asked many people to pray for me on that day. I don’t like water that much, as you already know. I’m okay being on the water in a boat, or wading along the safe shore, but I have no desire to be immersed in it. It’s a phobia I need to conquer, but I didn’t want to deal with it at that moment in time. As always, God was faithful and we made it back to the dock and I didn’t experience an unexpected swim in the dark waters. (Please click here to read the rest of this story: Unseen People excerpt: On a boat

Good Words I Recommend

A Good Book: Walking on Water Reflections on Faith and Art by Madeleine L'Engle

Another Good Book: Farewell, Four Waters, One Aid Worker’s Sudden Escape from Afghanistan, by Kate McCord

A Good Cup: Psalm 23-My Cup Overflows

NOTE: Some of the links are affiliate links which means, at no extra cost to you, making a purchase through these specific links helps support this good work. Many thanks in advance!

A Final Word

I’ve got nothing more profound to share except Thank You. I’m grateful you’ve chosen to spend a few minutes with me today. Please do share this email with someone you think would enjoy it. They are most welcome to join us!

Have a good day! See you right back here again next Wednesday. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe for free!

Gratefully yours,

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