Wellspring

Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. — John 4:6, NLT

Two words stare at me from my morning

scripture reading: tired and wearily.

Jesus is well acquainted with our lives,

the daily difficulties, the simple truth

that a body gets tired and needs rest

and nourishment.  And just as I am

comforted by the resonance of His weariness,

knowing He understands the heaviness

I carry, He turns the story to someone

else, one who required spiritual rest

and nourishment more than He desired

to quench His own real and felt needs,

and I am humbled in a new way, a deep

nudging begins in that part of me,

that remnant of soul that is open

to such hard truths — the weariness

and thirst and discomfort I feel

should heighten my awareness

of the privation of others instead

of becoming a selfish focus, a withdrawing

of gifts. Even as I am resting beside

a necessary wellspring of refilling,

I can offer some part of myself

to another whose deprivation rivals 

or even surpasses my own gnawing need.

—C.L. Fisher, January 2021

Unless otherwise indicated, all content, including writing and images, are the work of C.L. Fisher and may not be copied, used, or distributed without permission.