Whoever Waters....

There are no gutters on my house. Rain gathers in the crevices where the rooflines meet and run down to splatter and clatter on the rock steps that lead down from the porch onto the back patio.

It is a gentle rain this morning, the stream of water clattering on the steps in a reassuring way reminds me of the goodness of God in the provision of water, the very necessity of life. In the distance soft bass tones of thunder rumble away from where I am, the clouds gently releasing what I like to call a soaking rain.

In the Horn of Africa, the rains have not come in season and the soaking rain they so desperately need await October, the next hope for relief to come from the sky. The ground, inches in dust, is being dug into by fathers and mothers. They dig deep in the dry crust making holes to cradle their babies who have died because of no water. The earth crumbled and cracked, is now heaped in mounds, marking the devastating end of the life of a child.

In simple faith, Lord, I pray for a drink of water and a source of food this day for each suffering child, each person you created for your glory, people caught in desperate grip of drought, of famine. Lord, I thank you for this rain, for water from my faucets, an ice-maker, and a pantry full of food. You have soaked my life with blessings of provision. For what reason, Lord? Give me eyes to see, ears to hear, a mind to understand. Show me where to bring a blessing from You through me. To whom do I bring it? Will you give me water to give to others that they may live? My pantry shows no evidence of drought. My faucets run freely. Who am I to receive such abundance? I fear that this abundance will give way to a drought of the soul. In abundance or drought, I will trust you. I am a willing vessel. You have filled. Now pour me out. 

Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, 

and whoever waters will himself be watered.     

Proverbs 11:25 (ESV)