Jessie's Well Blog

Back Home Again - Reflections and Updates with Thanksgiving

 

Back Home Again
Reflections and Updates

Marilyn and I have been home for a few weeks now.  We have been busy putting things away, opening mail, and acclimating back to our “normal” schedules.  We were blessed that our first visit for sharing about the trip was with the Kidzone kids at Brevard Community Church.  These kids followed the ride and prayed faithfully for us throughout the journey.  The questions they asked us were insightful and revealed God’s working in their hearts.  It’s amazing to hear each of them pray at the end of the sharing time – so real and so intimate with their heavenly Father.  In so many ways it seemed like the right place for us to be upon our return from Water Cycle.   On Wednesday of the next week we were given the opportunity to share stories from the trip with our church family.

As we reflect on Water Cycle and what we experienced over the past two months there are many emotions and memories that pour out.  Some are funny now but were not so funny at the time.  Some are recollections of physical challenges or struggles along the way.  Some are of moments of awe and wonder as we gazed upon God’s creation.  The one experience that I believe best captures God’s heart and purpose was my brief encounter with Joyce at Burger King on October 25.  (See Day 48 blog post)  Water Cycle is about how God can multiply the heartfelt, sacrificial gift of one person to impact thousands of lives.  Joyce exemplifies this beautifully and there are hundreds of others who have offered their gifts just as she did. We were recently presented with a special gift from some dear friends that beautifully illustrates this story.  We were given an actual “widow’s mite.”  A Hasmonian Jewish Coin dating from 103 BC to 37 AD.  The significance of this is recorded in the New Testament book of Luke, chapter 21 verses 1-4. 

In the very near future we will be reviewing funding requests for the next water plant.  As we do so I am reminded of how God touches one heart in order to make a difference in one life and that one life is changed so that it too will make a difference in one more life.  That is how God intends for us to impact the world – one life at a time.  The picture of this beautiful girl holding a bottle of clean affordable water reminds me of that truth and I marvel at the future God has for her – a future of health and hope made possible by the life giving Living Water of Christ.

Next week we celebrate Thanksgiving in our country.  A tradition rooted in a declaration from Pilgrim Colonial Governor William Bradford recorded as saying "All ye Pilgrims with your wives and little ones, do gather at the Meeting House, on the hill… there to listen to the pastor, and render Thanksgiving to the Almighty God for all His blessings."  As we gather with friends and family I encourage each of us to pause to recall the blessings He has bestowed upon us and ask that you also remember and give thanks for the lives you have helped touch through the life giving gift of clean water.  Happy Thanksgiving!