Hungry for God: demands of motherhood

It was a typical morning.

I’d washed the dishes, thrown a load of laundry into the washing machine, bathed the girls, and was preparing to step into the shower. If there’s one thing I love, it’s a long, hot shower on a cold winter morning. And hot is probably an understatement. Scalding’s more like it. There’s something about being drenched in wonderful warmth that restores my perspective and eases me into the day.

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This morning was particularly chilly, and I was really looking forward to my ten minutes of luxury. I turned the hot water faucet on high, added just the tiniest bit of cold water, and stepped in. Ahhhhhhh. Heaven!

For about three minutes.

Before I had even worked conditioner into my hair, I noticed the water getting noticeably cooler. Could there be a problem with the water heater, I wondered? The temperature had seemed fine when I filled the washing machine. And washed the dishes. And bathed the girls.

Uh, oh.

I realized that my cleaning spree had completely exhausted the hot water supply, and there was none left over for me.

Life’s like this sometimes. The demands of marriage, motherhood, and work often use up every ounce of our time and energy, leaving nothing left over for us. Like my tepid shower robbed me of a simple indulgence, life sometimes uses up our best resources and leaves us with lukewarm leftovers.

There was a woman in Bible days who also looked to water to meet a need. She, too, found that life had used up her supply, leaving her drained and empty. Jesus met her at a well in the heat of the day.

“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,” Jesus warned her as they sat by the well. He knew that nothing this world has to offer would ever completely satisfy the longings of her heart. Deep down inside, she knew it too.

“But whoever drinks the water I give him,” he offered, “will never be thirsty again.”

“Sir,” she said to Jesus, “give me this (living) water to that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

This woman at the well realized what I did that winter day—that no amount of self-indulgence, material possessions, money, or vacations can ever truly restore our tired souls. They all fall short. It is only when we drink from God’s living water that we discover what truly satisfies.

If you’re feeling stretched thin, worn out, or shortchanged, take a few moments to read the account of Jesus and the woman at the well in John 4.

If you feel like all you’re living on is left over and lukewarm, commit to spend some time at the well filled with living water. Sit there with Jesus, and let him restore your soul. Only then will you be truly ready to face the day. And, unlike my shower that morning, this well will never run dry.

“Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

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