Saturday, June 29, 2013

Get Wet, Stay Wet

Hello Friends.
You know all people and creatures crave closeness to water.  That's why most of the earth's population hugs the shorelines of its continents.  Maybe it's because we are made almost entirely of water.  Maybe it is because we started our life in water, living in it and breathing it before our birth.  Maybe it is because almost none of us get the recommended daily dose of water we need to be optimally hydrated, so that whether we recognize it or not, our bodies are constantly thirsty.


Living water comes freely and fully from God.  Living water comes untouched by human contact.  But just because this living water is offered freely to us doesn't mean that it wasn't obtained at a price. The true price was paid by Christ on the cross to redeem humanity and creation.  So if the gift of Christ is to offer us living water; if the redeemed community of faith is always standing ankle deep in living water: why are we so parched?


But God wants us wet.  In the first creation, God as the Master Potter could not work with the earth, the dirt, until it was wet.  Dirt and water make mud, or clay, and you and I are clumps of clay that the Divine Potter scooped out of the ground and breathed into these beautiful mud pies, called us, the breath of God.  For God to continue to mold us and shape us, our clay must be moist.  What keeps your clay moist?  What's your moisturizer?  If your clay hardens, and loses its wetness, your soul gets hard, brittle and bitter.


We are called to be "wet and wild."  We are to be dunked, deluged, dripping with the living water we have received.  The world should be able to trace our tracks in its midst by following our sloppy, wet footprints.  God wants us wringing wet so that we have plenty of living water for God to mold and make us with and to offer the next generations.


There are some tiny little invertebrates that are known as tardigrades, or "water bears." Have you heard of them? They're called "water bears" since under a microscope they look a bit like miniscule gummy bears. They live in small ponds and in the moist pockets of mosses and lichens. When their environment changes, when the water they depend upon begins to evaporate, tardigrades have the ability to lose up to 95% of their body water. They can survive for decades in this dehydrated, inactive state, simply waiting for the next big gully-washer to restore their liquid environment and re-animate their existence.


I hate to tell you this, but we were not created water bears.  Living water cannot be put on the shelf and saved forever.  Living water must be poured out continually in order to keep the stream of the Spirit alive from one generation to the next.  Just because you watered your garden last year doesn't mean you don’t have to water it this year.


Living water is not a flood that wipes out everything else in life. True living water is always supplied in just the right amounts.  When the perfect level of living water is flowing through our lives there is no limit to what we can grow, to what we can accomplish.  When the living water flows, "all things are possible."


Two hours outside of the tiny community of La Macarena, Columbia, there is a remote river known as Cano Cristales.  Like most rivers of the world, the water flow of Cano Cristales is tied to the seasons.  In the wet, rainy season, the river flows deep and has strong currents.  It is clear and cool.  During the dry season the water levels drop, the water temperatures rise, pools become puddles, strong rapids become small rivulets.


But for a small window of time, when the water levels are just right, when the temperatures are just right, when the amount of sunlight is just right, the Cano Cristales is transformed into the most colorful river in the world.  During those few short weeks the waters of this little known river are so reborn that it is known as "the river that ran away to paradise."  Don't believe me? The previous and following photos are of the Cano Cristales.  (my MOM did not take these.  Got them off the interwebs)


Natural pools and waterfalls blaze with the colors of the living plants. Nothing could more beautifully illustrate "living water."


Nothing, that is, unless it is the chicken casserole you take to the shut-in neighbor.  Nothing, that is, unless it is the ride home you give to kids whose parents can’t be bothered.  Nothing, that is, unless it is volunteering to clean up the huge mess "coffee time" makes of the church vestibule every week.  Nothing that is, unless it is sitting by the side of someone who is ill.  Nothing that is, unless it is walking dogs at a shelter and rubbing their bellies.


Living water must be continually poured out into the church, into the community, into our homes, into our world.  Unless living water is poured out, it goes stagnant and stale.


Water is powerful.  What was the unstoppable power behind the creation of those huge canyons in the beautiful "Grand Canyon?"  That power was water.  Whether gently flowing, torrential floods, unyielding torrents, water that moves and the movements of water have changed and charted our world.


Living water will do the same, if we give it a place to reside.  Let the power flow my Friends.  Let yourself get wet.  God’s new creation is water based.  And we are God’s new creation . . . born of water and the Spirit.  Keep wet my Friends.
Blessings,
Goose

33 comments:

  1. God must be SUPER happy with us :)

    Wyatt and Stanzie

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  2. Hari OM
    Amen.

    (May I just add that, in the last photo, Mom looks like she is going to try and rescue that Big Stick you left behind Goose-ji!)

    Hugs and wags, YAM-aunty xxx

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  3. Wow, your MOM is super for going into the water with you! Have a wonderful weekend!

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  4. Awesome!! What a wonderfully inspiring post!! We especially love the love we can see between you and your MOM! xoxo Chloe and LadyBug

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  5. Beautiful post. We hope you have a beautifully wet and COOL Sunday. XOXO

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  6. Thank you and God bless you!


    Anne and Sasha

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  7. Nice one Goose. Some of those pix are just stunning. Have a serene Sunday and stay cool.
    Best wishes Molly

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  8. Oh Goose you have such a fun Mom, loved all the photo's Have a wonderful Sunday xx00xxx

    Mollie and Alfie

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  9. We get it. That river sure is beautiful. Hope you guys have a great SUnday.

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  10. the second and third up from bottom are my favorites, these are wonderful photos and they do illustrate living water... beautiful post

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  11. What a beautiful beautiful post. We love the sermons you give and how you teach them with pictures.
    Have a good Sunday
    Bert

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  12. Inspiring and Beautiful. Golden Thanks for sharing and absolutely made our morning. Golden LOVE. Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar

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  13. Thank you for this wonderful post, Goose. So sweet of you and your Mom to spend lots of fun times together. Have a great week ahead!

    Love,
    Piappies Fudgie, Princess, Frappie, Mocha, Sugar, Wai-Max, Wai-Pai & Forgie

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  14. What a wonderful day and what a wonderful pool - those colors are amazing

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  15. Oh, Goosie! You are so wise and so wonderful! And quite wet, too! :)
    Thank you for sharing all this beautifulness! Would you give your MOM a bit of a snuggle for me?
    Camo!

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  16. Goose this is a beautiful beautiful post...words and pictures. You and Mom having a refreshing dunk in the water made us smile.
    Hugs madi your BFFF

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  17. Beautiful post and pics. But I was surprised your mom got her shoes wet. Well, maybe not . . .

    Your Pals,

    Murphy & Stanley
    Ambassadors of Love

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  18. Beautiful post Goose...Momz sez the water renews her spirit...We love all your photos today ... Cano Cristales is truly amazing

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  19. That's a great post, Goose. Today even me would like water - I feel like a hot dog. Have a wonderful sunday - I love the living water .

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  20. What a beautiful postie Goose!! Loves it, and it sure looks like you are gonna be wet for a while! That river looks quite refreshin'!
    Stay wet and cool my furend!
    Kisses,
    Ruby ♥

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  21. What an interesting passage Goose, especially that waters with the many rainbow colours!
    Goose, how can you go that deep!! I love paddling with my paws, but sometimes, water can be scary!
    Have a super week,
    Pippa

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  22. That was (yet another) BEAUTIFUL post Goose and Mom!

    We loved the pictures of you and Mom in the water :)

    Hugs,
    Lily Belle & Muffin

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  23. Goose, your Sunday sermon, always helps to make us a little wetter also!
    Thanks to you & Mom

    The Mad Scots

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  24. Beautiful photos and beautiful post, Goose. Happy Sunday!

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  25. We love your sermons Goose. And love the pictures of you and your Mom.
    hugs
    Bailey, Hazel & Greta

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  26. Gorgeous! Bet that water feels good
    Snorts,
    Benny & Lily

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  27. Wonderful post. A lot to think about!

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  28. lovely post and i absolutely LOVE the picture 3rd from the bottom. OMD it's so beautiful.
    loving wags, bailey

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  29. Stunning. Inspiring. Moving. Reflective. Thought provoking. My favorite part (besides the pictures and your bravery)? This line, ""the river that ran away to paradise." There's something so beautiful and promising about it. Even rivers go to paradise. It is, of course, where all roads lead. ;D

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  30. I’d have to check with you here. Which is not something I usually do! I enjoy reading a post that will make people think. Also, thanks for allowing me to comment!

    Website
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