Not A Drop To Drink by Emily Owen

“Why didn’t she say sorry?”

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’ to one child or another, but last week was the first time I have ever been asked why Goldilocks didn’t apologise to baby bear for eating his porridge. 

“Why didn’t she say sorry to him for leaving his bowl empty?”

In Numbers 20, the Israelites are moaning. Verse 5:
 “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!”

And there is no water to drink.

Water is almost an afterthought here, and yet water is the essential for life.

When I’m lying in hospital, I may dream of milkshakes and cups of tea, but it’s water that is always left available for me.

I can live without cups of tea (possibly).

But water is essential for life.

Jesus, our Living Water, is essential and yet, like the Israelites in Numbers, perhaps we make him an afterthought when we look at things we don’t have?

I don’t have inspiration.  I don’t have a publishing contract.  I don’t have any comments on my blog.  I don’t have many followers on Facebook. No one liked my tweet. I don’t have time to stop being busy.  I don’t have time to write. I don’t have time not to write. I am useless at writing anyway.  Why do I bother. I don’t think I can do this.  Oh, and I’ve not been drinking from the Living Water.

According to Google, one of the symptoms of severe dehydration is ‘confusion’.

We have the essential for life – all of life – readily available and yet, the more we forget to bring Jesus in, the more we forget He’s there, the more dehydrated we become.

The more confused we are, the more we lose perspective, focusing first and foremost on the wrong things.

And the Living Water is tagged on to our list of disillusionment.

By the time we’ve got through to the bottom of the list, our bowl is empty.

Where?  Where’s Jesus in this?

My bowl is empty.

I’m not drinking from the water of life.

I’m not bringing Jesus in.

Why am I leaving my bowl empty?

Water is the essential for life yet

I don’t drink it.

It’s an afterthought.

Sometimes an after afterthought.

In no way am I entering the plastic bottles debate, but I came across a slogan for Highland Springs, who do sell bottled water.

‘When you’re fully hydrated, you let nothing get in the way of your day.’

Things do get in the way of my day.

Maybe that’s because I’m not fully hydrated.

Why didn’t she say sorry to him for leaving his bowl empty?

Good question.

Maybe I should apologise to myself for times I leave my bowl empty.

Times I’m not hydrated by the Living Water.

Emily, I’m sorry for leaving your bowl empty.

I’m sorry for getting so distracted,

Busy,

Worried,

that I forget to drink the Living Water.

I’m sorry for the times I don’t stop when I should.

When I let the water drain away.

And then, empty of Water, I wonder why you dry up.

I’m sorry.