Living Water

"There cometh a women of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and saith unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep; from whence then hast thou that living water?.....Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again. But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." John 4:7-14

Water has a powerful affect on us. I came realize this the last few days as we watched Amy suffer agonizing pains and gradually become sicker and sicker. She had been released from the hospital mid morning on Tues. with powerful painkillers and she spent all day wretchedly ill and the rest of us feeling full of despair for her. The soonest her surgeon could see her was the following MONDAY morning! Finally late Tues. night, her husband said, "enough is enough...we are going back to the hospital!" Hours later, and to make a looonnnggg story short, she had a miraculous recovery. What was the problem?

Dehydration.

Lack of fluid in her body.

We went to a different hospital, and after a discussion, they realized she had not taken any fluids in nearly 36-48 hours! After two bags of IV fluids, she was a totally different person-pain free, nausea free, and she had come back to us! Water is a necessary and vital component of our lives-lack of it is life-threatening!

As I lay in bed later that night (early morning), I had a powerful lesson taught to me.

Just as water is vital to our physical bodies, "living water" is vital to our spiritual selves. How long can I go without water in my body? Only a few days. How long can I go without "living water" for my spiritual body? The same. Do I recognize the signs and symptoms of spiritual "dehydration?" They may be more subtle and difficult to recognize, but they are there nonetheless.

"Yea, if they will come, they may, and partake of the waters of life freely." D&C 10:66

The invitation is issued, the Arms are always extended.

We must accept the invitation and "drink freely."