Thirst No More

Our Calico cat, uniquely named, Callie, is a spitfire. She dashes through the house as if there is an emergency that only she can solve on the other side. She cuts corners by jumping up onto the wall and ricocheting off on the other side. She stalks our other cat, lies in wait, and then attacks just as he passes. For about 3 seconds there is quite the skirmish and then she rushes off to defeat another foe.

Callie is also stubborn, which to be fair, is all but a requirement in this household. One of the habits she refuses to give up, no matter what the consequence, is jumping straight up onto the counter, just by the sink. If someone has left the sink dripping even the tiniest bit, she is there in an instant. Each time, the water is turned off, she is scooted off the counter and the cycle starts over again. What I fail to understand is why. She has a bowl of water that is often refilled. In fact, she could drink all the water her body could hold from that bowl. Still, she would rather have the few seconds with two drops of water.

As I was approaching her to remove her from the counter today, I watched her for just a minute. She actually sticks her paw out under the faucet. When a drop escapes, she catches it with her paw, and tries to get it to her mouth before it drips off. It is not only an inefficient way to absolve her thirst, it is also ineffective.

Thinking on why she was so determined to do it that way, it occurred to me that the bowl is simply not the way she wants to get water. It is not her preferred method. For whatever reasons, water from the bowl does not meet her standards. She is willing to exchange both quality and quantity to have it her way.

I am no different, really. God will completely meet every need I have, always, but not always in the way, or time, that I want Him to. So, I settle for second best in order to have it my way. Jesus tells a Samaritan woman at the water well, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:14) She, of course, asks for this living water. Knowing me, I would have been a bit more cynical. Something more along the lines of, “What is that supposed to mean? That can’t be true.” Once again, taking Jesus literally when He is speaking of thirst as that longing we have for something more.

I believe that what Jesus is saying is that if we truly believe in Him and come to Him with our hearts and our minds open, we will find all that we need in Him. Once our souls get a taste of the goodness of Jesus, we will never again want anything less. Now, want and seek are two very different ideas. I want nothing more than for Jesus to fill my heart and soul with His presence. Until I don’t feel it. Then, I go seeking for a way to fill that void with a vast array of activities and material things that never come close to filling that need. I want Jesus, but I want Him my way and in my time. When I don’t get it, I am willing to settle for drops from the faucet.

It is a work in progress for me, a developing strategy to be filled by the only one who can fill me. I think the key is remind myself that He is there and to drink from His well often. When I start to see that I am looking to outside things to create happiness, that is when I need to remember from where true joy is found. That is when I need to go back to the source and stay there until I am once again filled. For me, that source can be accessed through the Bible and through prayer. I must return there often, daily, sometimes more than once a day, to find Him and His joy.

While trying to catch droplets from the faucet may look more appealing and seem like more fun, it will never, ever provide enough water. We will continue to thirst unless we drink from the right well.