SOURCE:Many years ago I was a preacher-man (another face, a different time). So it is not surprising that I think about Bible stories once in a while.
There is a story in the New Testament, about a day when Jesus sat by a well to talk to a Samaritan woman. In our day this is not such a remarkable story, but in his time it certainly was not the accepted thing to do. Jesus was brought up as a Jew (though he really didn’t like the label), and Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans. This social law had no bearing on Jesus, so he sat by the well and had a great conversation with a woman. A woman, mind you, not a man. It was bad enough that he spoke with a Samaritan, but it was a double no-no to sit in public with a woman! He did it; Jesus was just that sort of man.
What got me thinking about this story was an article I read the other day that was written by one of our Asamee writers, Thundering Wind. She wrote a wonderful piece that she called The Well. It is a wonderfully written article that speaks of her life-experiences as a woman and a writer.
Back when I was the preacher-man, I was floundering and gasping for life (much like Thundering Wind in The Well). When I read the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well, my imagination began to play with the subject of the well, more so than the communication exchange going on between Jesus and the woman. (Don’t you just hate the authors of the Bible when they don’t take time to give a name to a person? Personally, I think this speaks volumes about their prejudice. I call her Nalda.)
Have you ever thought about wells and how they are dug? And where they are located? I don’t want to make this writing a discourse on constructing wells, but I think it is important to note that a well isn’t just placed in a random location. Someone has to know what they are doing or else the labor of digging a well is just sweat and grit with nothing to show for it. And the well has to be a certain depth; this is important for my story.
When I was that floundering preacher-man gasping for breath, I came across a brilliant idea (where do you suppose it came from?). The idea was this: Sometimes a well-digger has to dig just a little deeper to find his water. Just a little bit more is all that it sometimes takes. What if the well-digger stops one foot short? What if he is tired and wants to go home to a hot shower and a beer? How many wells have there been that were started and not finished because the worker lost hope and gave up?
Sometimes life’s experiences gently nudge us that we need to just dig deeper.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that we stay in the same location and keep digging away in the same place. A good well-digger shifts his location to the right spot.
The preacher-man, that I once was, eventually shifted his location, until he found a better place to dig his well. He moved to the place of the Great Within, where the cool and abundant waters of the Spirit always flow.
"Gentle River Flow"
A Book of Collected Writings
By Joseph Babinsky
Published 2005
pages 138-140
Paperback book:
http://www.lulu.com/shop/joseph-babinsk ... 80547.html
Personal Note: The other day I was looking for something on my bookshelf and got distracted after I picked out an old book that I wrote in 2004/2005. I carried the book to my chair and began to read. "Hey," I said aloud to myself, "Some of this writing is pretty good." I kept reading and found this little piece that I wrote with the title "Dig Deeper." I found it interesting and timely, and had to share it here. Hope you enjoyed it.
With love and a hug,
Joseph
. Much love to you my brother in arms..........Al