Our Spiritual Spray

“Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.’” John 4:13-14

One of my sweetest memories with my children was when we took them to Charleston when they were little. It was a hot day and we had been told in advance that there was a large waterfront fountain in which children could play. So, they wore their bathing suits under their shorts and spent an hour running around under the water which sprayed up into the sky out of the many openings of the fountain. It was a joy to watch their excitement, freedom in play and the refreshing water to keep them cool on a very hot day. There were so many children playing under the spray of that huge fountain.

This memory today is the image that was placed in my mind as I read this passage. So many times, in my life I wasted my thirst on things of this world such as my physical image…my obsession with pleasing people… my empty pursuit of gaining acceptance and approval from others. It didn’t matter what I did the quench was never fully satisfied, and the thirst always returned. I was drinking in the water of the world instead of allowing the Spirit to ebb and flow within me. It was only when I began pursuing a life aligned with the teaching of Christ that I began having a steady flow of satisfaction and nourishment. The more of the Spirit’s flow that we get in our hearts, the more of the world’s flow we get out of our lives.

This morning I think of my Grandmother Miller who was this towering fountain of spiritual water whose spray was all encompassing. I watched a lifetime of ‘children playing under the spray’ of her spiritual fountain. When they were around her, they were joyful, hopeful and encouraged to run and dream. I know for myself there was something special about being around her and watching God move within her. It was her willingness to allow the Spirit to guide her in all ways. She never tried to block His flow but allowed her life to be a walking testimony of His amazing love. 

As beautiful as Charleston’s waterfront fountain is, it doesn’t hold a candle to the spiritual spray that each of us can display when we allow the flow of the Spirit in every aspect of our lives.