only a cup of cold water

Most nights, I completely clean the kitchen before I go to bed. And most mornings, I wake up to a kitchen island FULL OF WATER GLASSES. Seriously. It is crazy. Some empty, some half full, some completely full. Water glasses are everywhere. It is like there is some wild water drinking party that goes on while I am sleeping.

If you have children, and a kitchen counter, you know what I am talking about.

And it is funny what words in the Gospel jump at me. This morning, from Matthew 10:34-11:1, "And who ever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple-amen, I say to you, he surely will not lose his reward", was such words.

How many cups of cold water have I given? The number is endless.

One of my favorite things, a thing that I miss and my hearts aches for, was the way my babies would drink from their sippy cup. I could never put my finger on it; why it was such a source of joy for me. Their chubby hands holding the handles, the sound of their gulping, their heads back in the stroller or high chair, slurping it all down. It was adorable. And it was satisfying. For them, and for me. Because I was able to meet such a basic need. I was able to give them exactly what they desired in that moment.

My kids are grown, and the response to "can I have a drink of water?" is drastically different, depending on who they ask. If they ask their father for a drink, he will say, "Sure. You know where the glasses are." But if they ask me, their mother, I always say, "Sure...you want ice, too?"

And most times, truly, I do not mind this.

Most times, truly, I enjoy it.

Because you know, thirst...thirst is a big deal.

And what we thirst for? Well, that is even bigger.

And I am not even so sure that when my youngest asks for a drink he is always thirsty.

I think he just knows that he wants something...that he needs something...and that he has no idea what it is, but maybe, as his mother, I do.

I think sometimes, my kids ask for a drink when they are faced with empty time and space.

Like when the computer freezes. Or the battery runs out. Or a commercial comes on.

I think sometimes, we, too, might reach for a glass of wine, a bag of chips, our phone or the remote, when faced with such time.

We do not always know what to do with ourselves when things get quiet, and we do not always like where our minds might go when there is blank space.

And in response to our deepest thirst for what we need and are made for, we reach for a poor substitute, that will satisfy for the moment, but keep us reaching the next day.

And we keep on reaching, because we will never be able to quench our own thirst.

Our thirst will never just go away on its own.

We have to meet that thirst with something.

There is nothing inside of us, that will satisfy completely.

I think children are so much closer to God than we are, and so maybe, they ask others for a cold drink of water, because they know that what they need to be satisfied has to come from someone else. And so I am thinking now about what we thirst for, and do we ask that One someone else for a cold drink? Do we seek out a drink we can hold with our hands, bring up to our lips and gulp down? Or do we run around in chaos, trying to drink in what does not quench? Or do we sit in despair, focusing on how thirsty we are, how thirsty we will always be?

The first time I encountered Jesus, you can say that He offered me a glass of cold water.

And once you take a sip of living water, no other substitute drink will do.

And once you know Who can quench your thirst, something incredible happens---you start filling up other glasses. Some to the top, some half way up, but you can not help it, you keep on filling them up and handing them out, hoping that hands will grasp on, hoping they will throw their heads back like a child and drink it all down.

And when that happens?

When that happens, my friend, you will know, at last, what it feels like to be truly satisfied.

When that happens, surely, you will not lose your reward.