LET IT FLOW

I used to love to play in the woods near my home when I was a boy. I especially enjoyed sitting by a certain crystal clear mountain stream that flowed musically down the side of a hill.

Green moss covered the rocks and made a comfortable seat on either side of it and when I would bend down I could see my own smiling face reflected back at me. I used to love taking a sip of its pure, sweet water. It always tasted like a drink from Heaven.

Going back in my mind to those carefree days beside those blessed waters reminds me of all the wonderful lessons they taught me. They taught me not to grasp too tightly. If I did the water would seep through my fingers and I would be left with nothing. Instead I learned to let the water flow over my hand and to lift it gently in my cupped palm when I wanted a sip or to water the daises, buttercups, and Queen Anne’s lace that lined the stream’s banks. I learned too that just a few drops of that water helped those flowers to grow healthy and strong. Most of all I learned that I didn’t always have to be doing something to be living. Just sitting by that tiny mountain stream, listening to it gently splash over the rocks, and feeling its peace was all that I needed for a great afternoon.

That mountain stream is a lot like the river of God’s love that flows through our lives. Just like that stream God’s love can’t be grasped and held tightly. In order to drink from it and experience it we have to let it flow through us and use it to bless the world around us. A few drops of that living water too is all that we need to help us grow better and stronger each day of our lives here. And sometimes it is good to just spend some time sitting quietly by the stream with God and let His peace fill us once again. May you always let God’s loving water flow through your life then. May you drink deep, live well, and pass the cup on to all you can.

.....Joseph J. Mazzella (joemazzella@frontier.com)by way of "Christian Voices" (www.ChristianVoicesWorldwide.net