Oasis

 

We’ve had a birdbath in our backyard for well over 20 years. We never noticed any birds using it so I eventually stopped filling it with water and just let it be there for decoration. Now that I’m retired and have more time on my hands, I’ve been trying to keep it filled again. The birdbath has become popular lately. We’ve seen blue jays, robins, cardinals, doves, and several other birds (as well as a few squirrels and our cat) drinking and splashing about.  I suspect that the drought has caused a lot of the other water sources in the neighborhood to dry up and so our birdbath has become an oasis of sorts for the local wildlife.

 

I’ve never been to the desert but I imagine that the sight of an oasis in the distance is a welcome one for the traveler. The springs bring life and refreshment to those who are dry. We all will experience dry times in our lives, times when all the joy seems to have gone out of life and it seems like it is all we can do to just keep plodding forward.

 

Jesus told the woman at the well, “Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (Jn 4:14). If you are thirsting today, turn to Jesus and let your spirit be refreshed.  The allures of the world are just a mirage; they cannot satisfy your deepest needs.

 

There is a beautiful hymn based on Isaiah Chapter 55, “Come to the Water”, that expresses these ideas.  You can find the music on YouTube and elsewhere online.

Come to the Water

O let all who thirst,
let them come to the water.
And let all who have nothing,
let them come to the Lord:
without money, without price.
Why should you pay the price,
except for the Lord?

And let all who seek,
let them come to the water.
And let all who have nothing,
let them come to the Lord:
without money, without strife.
Why should you spend your life,
except for the Lord?

And let all who toil,
let them come to the water.
And let all who are weary,
let them come to the Lord:
all who labor, without rest.
How can your soul find rest,
except for the Lord?

And let all the poor,
let them come to the water,
Bring the ones who are laden,
bring them all to the Lord:
bring the children without might.
Easy the load and light:
come to the Lord.