Yesterday I was happily sitting outside with my daughter enjoying the beautiful Texas Fall weather when I got a call from the water company. A line broke on your street, she said , so your water will be off for about an hour. Okay, fine, I can live without water for an hour. Little did I realize that when your water is turned off what can happen!

I walked into the house and I heard the washing machine running. Oh, I guess the water is back on already, good, I thought. Then a little later , I began to cook dinner which involves putting water into the Instant Pot, washing veggies, and washing dishes. The cold water was BROWN. The hot water was AIR sputtering out of the pipes. I frowned, but was still oblivious to the possibilities of these developments.

I let the cold water run, assuming that it would become clear again. It did, but only after at least 10 minutes of wasting water! Then I realized that the hot water was not coming out at all and it finally hit me that something bad could have happened to our water heater. I said some silent prayers. By then my husband had come home and made a pronouncement of doom, the water heater is fried! He said this in tones of absolute certainty and not happily. He asked if anyone had used the hot water while the water was turned off, but I didn’t know. I knew the washing machine was on when I came into the house, turned on by my son , but I didn’t know if it had sucked all the hot water out of the water heater. I did not mention that small bit of information. I was starting to worry.

With the help of a jug of Spring water, dinner was cooked. Hands were washed with cold water. The hot water had starting running and was finally clear , not brown, but it was still COLD. We discussed the terrible possibilities, with me stating that I would not be living without hot water for very long. I am a runner, after all. I need my shower! My husband was also in need of a shower. Laundry would need to be done. Hands washed. Dishes done. I quickly became aware of just how much hot water we use in a day! Would we be heating water on the stove? Taking cold showers?Heaven forbid! The plan was to wait and give it time to heat up overnight. My husband said he wouldn’t have time to fix it until Friday. Umm…. I didn’t say anything, just tensed my jaw and rubbed my tight shoulder.

I went to bed and prayed. Please let there be hot water in the morning, Lord! I also prayed for many other things that are going on in my family right now that are out of my control and trying to steal my peace. I’ve been so tense that my jaw and shoulder have been hurting and I’ve been stress eating. I realized how much I was worrying about as I prayed. I gave it to God. I finally slept and had a lot of crazy dreams. One involved finding a pack of cigarettes and lighting one and then realizing I was inside a school building on a school day. I became very afraid of getting caught with it even though I felt like I had been tricked into lighting it. I was trying to get OUT of the school unseen to rid myself of the cigarette. But of course , as happens in dreams, things kept blocking my exit. And the cigarette was still burning. I had no way of putting it out. I can’t remember how that one ended . Pretty sure I dreamed that because I had seen a post on Facebook last night about someone who had quit smoking. I then merged into a new dream of trying to hide in a building. There were tiny elevators and rooms. Anxiety much?! I guess I hadn’t given it ALL to God!

This morning I woke up with the alarm at 6 and the first thing I did was turn on the bathroom faucet to brush my teeth. Of course I used the cold water, but then I remembered, OH Yeah! Do we have hot water? I turned it on, YES! I spoke to God out loud, THANK YOU GOD! THANK YOU! I texted my husband right then. He was cautious and said wait until you take a shower. But I think it’s going to be fine. So, for now, I am rejoicing over hot water! And I trust that God will take care of my other worries in his timing. Everything is going to work out! I just have to be patient. I can only control my reaction and my own actions. I can love others and love God. I can take care of MY responsibilities . That is all I can do. Have a great day and I hope that you have plenty of hot water!

Dear reader, no matter what your plumbing situation may be, Jesus offers you living water. I pray that you will receive it. Accept his gift of salvation today!

3 LORD, you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the LORD, the spring of living water. Jeremiah 17:13

8 On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it east to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter. Zechariah 14:8

10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” 11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?” 13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”  John 4

38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” John 7:38