Living Water

While driving along the Feather River in Northern California, I thought about the River of Life in Revelation 22. It must be beautiful with the Tree of Life rising on each side which bears twelve different kinds of fruit. Hard for me to imagine.

After a winter of heavy rain and snow, the Feather is fuller, faster and more captivating. White water rushers over boulders and descends into glorious waterfalls. The rushing water seems to be alive and I questioned, "Is this what living water is like?"

Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well outside of Sychar, that He had living water, water that would spring up into eternal life. She said, "I want some of your water," because she didn't want to have to keep coming to the well several times a day for water to clean her house and cook her food. She didn't want to have to come for water to bathe her family.

But Jesus wasn't talking about physical water. He talked about nourishment for her soul. She understood when she realized Jesus knew all about her sinful life but showed her love. She tasted the living water but couldn't keep it to herself. Like the water in the rushing Feather River, the living water bubbled up inside her and she had to run and tell others in town about the man who knew all about her, yet, loved her.

That's how God's love is. Once we experience it, we can't keep it to oursleves. We have to love God and love others. That's how God's kingdom grows and grows. Do you know God's lavishing love? If you do, you know what I mean. If not, my prayer is for you today, that you will call on Jesus' name. That's all you have to do. He is waiting to show you His love just as He did the woman at the well.

Tide Pool Discovery

Twice a day the water on the ocean shore rises and falls. These changes in water level are called tides. It’s fun to explore tide pools that form on rocky shores. At high tide the white water swooshes over the rocks and at low tide the waves do not reach the pools of water left among the rocks.     

God made ways for animals to survive when waves pound on the rocks and sand. Crabs dig into sand with their clawed legs. Clams bury themselves in the sand. Anemones have many arms called tentacles. When they close them they look like balls as big as a grapefruits. Sea urchins are covered with long, sharp spines that help them move along. They eat small plants that grow on rocks.

At low tide mussels lie closed on the mud. With their many threads, they attach themselves to the grass along the shore. When the tide comes in they open their shells to eat. Muskrats live near fresh water in salt marshes and feed on shoreline grass.

The splashing waves over the rocks, sand and grass bring shells, seaweed, driftwood and other sea life into tide pools. Next time you visit a beach, see what you can find.