 In John 4 Jesus was facing tremendous opposition from the Pharisees. He had just left Jerusalem and traveled north to Galilee. In order to get to Galilee, the shortest route took Him through Samaria. The Samaritans were a mixed race, part Jew and part Gentile. Jews wanted nothing to do with Samaritans because they could not prove their genealogy. The Jews had become prejudice. This prejudice was so strong that some Pharisees prayed that the Samaritans would not be raised in the resurrection! In John 8:48 it tells us that when Jesus’ enemies wanted to call Him an insulting name, they called him a Samaritan.
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 Growing up I was fortunate to have lived near lakes and water. Water and water activities were part of our family life. My mom never learned to swim. However, she knew living around water posed many dangers as well as joys and fun. Therefore, swimming lessons became a normal summer activity. Our first swim lessons were at CSU with the CSU swim coach, Mr. Solo. He was a no-nonsense coach. “Learning to swim is serious business,” he would say. “We are here to learn, not have fun! Fun is what you do after you have learned the skills of swimming.” If I could put it another way, he was telling us that you cannot save others until you can save yourself.
 Recently I heard an interview with the United States Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch. He shared that when a new law clerk comes to work for him, he asks them to write their obituary. Why, you might ask? He did not want them to lose focus or forget who they were and why they were there. Oddly enough, he found upon reading the obituaries that it was not fame or fortune, but family, friends, and making a difference that they wrote about. He also asked each one to keep a copy in their desk and to look at it each month in order to remind them of who they wanted to be!
 How we communicate with each other has been changing constantly from the beginning of creation. For example, God verbally talking to Adam and Eve in the garden, the Ten Commandments written on stone, God speaking through a burning bush, dreams given to men, clouds, fire, messages written on walls, plagues, donkeys, storms, written letters, TV, iPhones, texting, or person-to-person communication.
 Recently while walking around a lake near my home, I saw a beautiful reflection of trees, sky, and ducks in the water around me. It got me to thinking about reflections. Upon further observation, I realized that the reflection needed light and calmness of the water to produce the image I was seeing.
 My youngest grandson was asked to draw a picture of heaven at school. In his picture was the Tree of Life, River of Life, golden streets with mansions, and God sitting at His computer! When I asked him what God was doing, he immediately replied that He was controlling the world!
 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord: my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness. (Psalm 61:10 NKJV)
 Recently my husband’s sister had to be hospitalized for an infection in her leg. She then had to go into rehab for several weeks.
She has two parakeets, which needed care. So every four days we would go to her apartment to take care of the birds. On one of those occasions one of the birds escaped from the cage. Oh, what a fiasco!!  My grandchildren love playing “Hide and Seek.” They not only like hiding themselves but hiding objects and finding them.
Our Christian lives can often find us playing “Hide and Seek” with God. “Where are you, God? Am I hot or cold? Give me a hint of where you are and what you are doing.” At times, we even wonder if He had given up on finding us!  From Kathy’s heart to yours
As I sit in my “meeting-God” chair each morning, I can look out at my garden. Every morning God sends the birds to bathe in the birdbath and sing. Every morning God wants to remind me of who He is and what He desires to do in my life. |
