Impressions and Continued Meditations

  "On the last day, the climax of the festival Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, "Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For Scriptures declare, 'Rivers of living water will flow from his heart!' (When he said, "living water,' he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)" John 7:37-39

  We learned what the Jewish Festival of Shelters was. Jewish people move out of their homes to live in shelters or tents for a week, symbolic of the journey the freed Hebrew slaves made. The climax was an act celebrating God's provision of water during the forty years they spent in the wilderness following their release. A high ranking Pharisee would make a pilgrimage through Jerusalem to their sacred pool. (I heard the name but it has slipped my mind.) He would fill a large, gold chalice with its water then parade it back to the sacrificial alter. The Pharisee would pour the water over the alter as an offering of gratitude to God.

  (There was a long pause...)

  I think of Christ being the living water, the source of life; how His blood became the water to wash away my sins.
  I think of baptism.
  I think of the moment the Roman guard pierced His side to confirm He was dead on the cross and a mixture of blood and water poured out.
  I think of Jesus walking across the water to be with His disciples.
  And Peter stepping out of the boat only to sink. The water would have flickered and danced above him. Can you imagine just how beautiful it would have been to see the living Christ's hand reaching down to pull him to safety?
  I think of Jesus washing the disciples' feet.

  Water. A life giving necessity to our existence.
  Water. The Black River, my personal metaphor for life with a mental health challenge. That has slowly evolved to represent life's challenges in general. Praise God!

  Another drawing emerged during yesterday's service as we did a guided practice run of meditating on the passage that has been assigned for this week.
  Time and again, I've seen images of  two rivers coming together like where the silt filled, brown Amazon meets the dark, clear waters of the Green River. It wasn't what I drew.
  What emerged was like where the Colorado River travels through the Grand Canyon and another river joins up. Each one has cut a huge, deep channel in the multi-hued layers of rock. They meander along the bottom of these steep cliffs, sometimes calm, sometimes furiously until they come together. Like the Amazon, the rivers are two distinct colours. A line is created down the middle of the divergence. It's not a perfect line because the currents swirl and eddy as they bump against each other. Farther downstream, the mixing is complete. The two rivers have become one.

  I have to give thanks this morning. For a few months now, I've simply been blogging about whatever has come to mind then finishing it with a scripture verse. This practice was starting to feel wrong, as though I was missing something.
  Praise God, the closing verse He led me to always fit!
  But...I much prefer this format of placing the scripture first just like I had done during the affirmation journey. Now, instead of fitting God's word into my life and experiences, it is now allowing God to apply my life experiences into deeper revelations of His word.
  This will mean change. This will mean growth as our two rivers swirl together; as I allow my own  to be completely mixed in with Christ's life giving waters. .