Joy Well

 ¹⁵ When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. ¹⁶ Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” And as she sat there, she began to sob.
 ¹⁹ Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. -Genesis 21:15-16, 19


Do you remember the story of Hagar?  She was Sarah's handmaid given to Abraham to bear the child Sarah thought she couldn't have.  Hagar bore Ishmael, but when Sarah became a mother to Isaac, she became jealous of Hagar and Ishmael and had Abraham send them away.  On their journey they ran out of provisions and they were ready to die from thirst when God opened Hagar's eyes to a nearby well.


Isn't that the way we are today?  God's blessings are always close at hand, but we just don't see them.  Perhaps we've forgotten to trust God to provide, or we just aren't looking.  Or maybe we are looking for the wrong thing.


We tend to have very definite ideas of what we "need" in life, so those are the things we pray for and those are the only things we expect to see when we look for the answers to our prayers.  But often what we think we need and what God knows we need are two entirely different things.  So we believe we are going to die of thirst when the well is only a few feet away.  The water we are really thirsting for is always joy.  And the well that is always at hand is filled with this joy water.


So even if the gift doesn't come looking the way we expect it to look, receive it with thanksgiving and gladness and you will find what your heart is truly seeking... joy.


Father,
Open our eyes to the joy well at hand. May we accept it with thanksgiving.  Amen.


Joys:  the sound of busy activity of family around the house; taking Cecelia for breakfast at Waffle House and the smiles in the room as she sang (in typical loud 2-year-old fashion), "Waffle House, Waffle House, how I love the Waffle House!"; forgiveness (completely forgot to show up for my annual paid staff review!!!)