You see a water glass being filled on the Reflections cover. What do you think?
- Why doesn’t my glass of water look that artistic?
- Does anyone use coasters anymore?
- How many of these are we supposed to drink each day?
- Why didn’t they use a picture of sweet tea?
- Why isn’t clean water accessible to everyone?
- What could I do about that?
- So they wanted a cover that says “summertime”?
- So they wanted a symbol for “devotional guide”?
- Am I thirsty?
People who pick up Reflections think all kinds of interesting thoughts. So here are a few more. How does our human need for water and the thirst we all experience connect us to each other? Will our physical need to keep our bodies hydrated remind us that our spiritual lives need living water to thrive? When we’re able to pay attention to it and respond to its warning, does thirst become a gift that leads us to the sustenance that our body and soul need?
In “Thirst,” Mary Oliver describes how this strong desire leads her on a spiritual quest. She writes: Another morning and I wake with thirst / for the goodness I do not have…Who knows what / will finally happen or where I will be sent, / yet already I have given a great many things / away, expecting to be told to pack nothing, / except the prayers which, with this thirst, / I am slowly learning.
What do you thirst for as these summer months approach? Grab a pen and paper, set a ten-minute timer, and respond to that question without pausing. What appears on the page when the time is up? Are you thirsty to see more goodness in the world? Do you long for conversation and action that move beyond divisions and create community?
As you dive into these devotions, drink deeply from the Scriptures they engage. Consider the thoughts of those who have prayed with these passages and listened for what God wanted them to hear. Recognize that even when we come to the well from different places, we all come with a thirst for living water. We all long to encounter the One to whom the verses point.
This post originally appeared as the From the Editor portion of the May-August 2019 volume of Reflections Daily Devotional Guide.
