Like life to be a well digger

An editorial column by Dusty Takle

We live on a farm in a very rural area. We have satellite internet (oh, the humanity); we have dirty cars because of dirt roads; and we have a well. I’ve adjusted fairly well to rural living and often remind myself that the reward is greater than any inconveniences it may bring, but sometimes, I wish living in the country wasn’t so…..rural. And I wish I could change a few of those inconveniences. The resources for our water supply is one of those things.

You can’t run water too terribly long, or you’ll find yourself in a well house priming the pump. You can’t run water outside and simultaneously wash your hands in your kitchen sink. And if the electricity goes out? You can kiss your water goodbye.

We forget how much we depend on our water supply. We take for granted the ability to access it with ease….no matter the resource. When we lose the ability to use or be nourished by water, we suddenly feel lacking. We take notice right away. We want it to be fixed. We know we can’t operate long without it, and when we find that we can’t fix it at all, we hope someone else will be there to help us out.

We lost electricity the other day for several hours. I endured at the house with my children for as long as I could, but finally decided to go to my parents’ house. There, I found comfort. I had water! Why? Because they were there to give me what I was lacking.

The next day, I found myself wishing for the convenience that city water provides. I held that thought until I heard my dad mention a man in the bible named Isaac. Isaac was a well-digger. He went about re-digging the wells that had built in the days of his father, Abraham.

These wells had become stopped up by the Philistines and no longer provided water to the people who depended on it. He re-dug wells that were clogged, so people could once again be nourished.

Isaac’s act of re-digging wells went far beyond the provision of water. It was much deeper than that. It was to sustain, once again, the lives of those who were lost and hurting. He cleared the way for them, and they simply drank, and they were brought back to life in every possible way.

I immediately thought about our well and suddenly, my perspective shifted. We always have the opportunity to be a well-digger in someone’s life. To restore hope to someone who is hurting. To remind someone of who they are and that they are loved by a merciful, gracious God, so they can, once again, receive His goodness, feel the security of His love, and be captivated by the amazing beauty around them.

Now, every time I prime a pump or have to wait for my water supply, I will be reminded to be a well-digger. To unclog the wells in individual souls and hearts, so they can receive nourishment again. It really doesn’t matter how it gets stopped up. Just go re-dig it because I never know, and you never know, when we, ourselves, may need a well-digger.