Bible Excerpt from Isaiah 44:1-5

"For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground."

Reflection by Christina Villa

After gym class when I was in elementary school, we would all line up at the drinking fountain, sweaty and dying of thirst, and wait our turn for a drink of water. I remember my 5th-grade teacher would stand next to the fountain and turn the handle briefly for each kid, so we only got as much water as she decided we needed. We all left the water fountain still thirsty.

When you're really thirsty, you can't think about anything else. Thirsts of the spirit are in a class apart from ordinary passing hunger. People get parched, like the ground in a drought. Nothing will grow in them. Loneliness and every kind of grief are droughts for the spirit. People can become parched for love, for company or a kind word, even a smile.

In the Bible, blessings are poured like water onto people because the spirit's need to be blessed is as urgent as the body's need for water. "For I will pour water on the thirsty land," says God. Try being more like God (and less like my 5th-grade teacher). Just assume that everyone you encounter is thirsty, somehow or other. Pour water on the dry ground to revive and bless someone's spirit today.

Prayer

God, let me pass along your blessing freely like water. Amen.

About the Author Christina Villa is on the staff of the United Church of Christ in Cleveland, Ohio.

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