Take a big drink

Too many of us subsist spiritually throughout the year on little sips of Living Water. Through NEWIM I’ve been blessed to attend the Springs silent retreat many times during the last 13 years, where I get to drink big. Last week I spent 48 hours (minus time for sleep, but that was welcome too) with God. It was glorious to sit at his feet, with no distractions – no phone, computer, TV, household responsibilities, nothing but resting in his presence.

I read a great book during that time: Is Your Lord Large Enough? How C.S. Lewis Expands Our View of God by Peter J. Schakel. Through many of Lewis’ thoughts and writings, he challenges our perceptions of God. In A Grief Observed, Lewis said “we need constantly to smash the images we form of God, so they can expand into new and larger ones. If we do not, our image of God will turn into an idol, that is, into a solidified idea that we worship instead of worshiping the living God. if we allow it, God will begin breaking those images for us. God, says Lewis, is the great iconoclast – the great image breaker. God will show us where our images are limited and inadequate – through our experiences, our thinking and our contacts with new ideas and other people, especially ideas and people different from those with which we are most familiar.” I realized this has been the theme of my life for the last 17 years and I’m thankful for it.

When we take a big drink of Living Water as I did recently, it’s good to know it’s fresh water. It’s not ice – a solidified image to worship. As it flows in and through us, it renews us and helps us grow. Living Water – the Holy Spirit – pushes on the boundaries of our thinking and helps us get to know more of who God really is. The big gulp was great, but I’m thankful for little sips and small drinks too – it’s all refreshing.