Pleasantly watery.

Through necessity I have become quite adept at plumbing. When I first bought my house it had what could only be described as a ropey central heating system; the boiler constantly boiled water and at least one radiator a month would ‘pin-hole’ sending a spray of water into whatever room it occupied. In no time at all I became very skilled in quickly isolating a radiator, bleeding it and patching up the hole. On top of this the header tank in the loft would occasionally split due insufficient structural support. I discovered this early one Saturday morning when I touched the stairs wall only to have a steady flow of water pass over my hand. It was more of a waterfall than a wall!!! I then had the pleasure of spending a beautiful summer day cramped in a small dark place trying to fix it. By the evening I’m sure that I had begun to look like Gollum.

In those days I used to have an ear finely tuned to any aquatic based sounds in the house, instantly responding to even the faintest of drips just to avoid any impending disaster. Sometimes, though, the sound of water is a delight. I recall orienteering when I was much younger. A friend and I had become completely lost but we figured out that if we could find what looked like a prominent stream we’d be able to get ourselves back. But the stream was not where we had expected it to be. But just as we were about to voice our dismay we realised that we could hear water even though we couldn’t see it. We searched the undergrowth, following the sound until we found the source of the noise, a stream buried in the undergrowth!

The sound of water is beautifully refreshing, and to put your hand in it is divine.
This is our role in every situation we find ourselves, to be a refreshing stream of life:
Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." By this he meant the Spirit. (John 7:37-39 NIV)

You may think that you don’t feel much like that but it is true (if it is not then Jesus is a liar and your faith is suddenly on wobbly ground… which it isn’t). God’s Holy Spirit flows through your life like streams of living water; refreshing, renewing, regenerating, reshaping. You are not dry ground, the life of salvation flows from you. Just as a stream cannot stop itself from flowing, the life that flows from you is not based on your skill in explaining the Gospel or your confidence with people – it is all reliant on the source of the stream; God alone! You are not dry ground you are an oasis in your family, school, office etc.

Every little thing you do reverberates in people’s minds (whether you know it or not) like the sound of a trickling stream. It causes them to draw near, to see its life and enquire about its source.

-Andrew Carey