Devotion 66 Day, 34 Post Transplant

....something I saw early one morning a few years ago, as I was walking up to the church. There was a young couple strolling along half a block ahead of me. The sun had come up brilliantly after a heavy rain, and the trees were glistening and very wet. On some impulse, plain exuberance, I suppose, the fellow jumped up and caught hold of a branch, and a storm of luminous water came pouring down on the two of them, and they laughed and took off running,t he girl sweeping water off her hair and her dress as if she were a little big disgusted, but she wasn't. I was a beautiful thing to see, like something from a myth. I don't know why I thought of that now, except perhaps because it is easy to believe in such moments that water was made primarily for blessing, and only secondarily for growing vegetables or doing the wash. -- Marilynne Robinson, Gilead

Rain in Seattle is blessing. A warm shower with water running over my head and down my back is blessing. Chris taking Micala, Kayla, Korrina, Kathy and me on a Lake Union boat ride to float on the water that we had only/previous watched through the window is blessing. The wading fountain at McCaw Hall where little girls in frilly go-to-the-ballet dresses take off their shoes and romp is blessing. The bowl of water at the Immanual Lutheran Church reminding of baptism is blessing. Lathering and washing hands to put infection down the drain is blessing. Fluids swallowed from a glass rather than dripped IV is blessing. Paddling, paddling, paddling, paddling, paddling, paddling is blessing.

At the well, in John 4:10, Jesus answered the Samaritan woman, If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water. When I meet Jesus at the well, if he asks me for a drink, I'll hope to scoop the water for him and then invite him paddling.

Years ago, when racing the Au Sable River Marathon, Jesus was in the boat with me and partner Anne Koblenski. My Savior vision was not 16+ hours of full-out-non-stop-marathon paddling hallucination, merely Jesus present in the boat -- the all-out incarnation of the event. Ttwo women giving their all, bodies made by God working past the notorious runner's heart-break hill. Hitting and passing through wall-after-wall for the 150+ mile paddling race. Never floating but determined, in sync hut, hut of paddles dipping, sparkling of sun on the premier trout stream in North America as the day came on. The gleam and track of our head-light reaching through the night. Living water beneath the hull, river bend to river bend. Living water proclaimed on the bridge ahead with a sign that read "Valerie and Ann, YES YOU CAN!" Living water demonstrated in the faithful attendance of our bank runners handing food and drink. Living water apparent in the joy of paddling, paddling, paddling, paddling, paddling blessing. Living water celebrated with the medals Verlen had made and gave us because Anne and I finished 10th in the men's pro division and back in 1984 there was no women's division. Living water realized when Anne carefully took compass readings across the back waters during practice and relied on her notes during the race when fog set in and many men's teams became lost.

Reminded and encouraged, I'm splashing in living water now. Thanks be to God.

Amazing. The water blessing will also grow vegetables and do the wash.