Like an idiot, I figured I didn't have enough to keep me busy and volunteered to oversee the local Salvation Army's garden where they grow fresh vegetables for their food bank. Their past volunteers had faded out and the big plot was going to weeds. It seemed a shame to see this garden die off, and the cause was a good one. So I bit off more than I could chew.
My son's girlfriend valiantly helped me weed it, and another girl and I planted a bunch of seedlings. But to water this space, we have to stretch about five long hoses from the church, across the parking lot, and out to the garden. And then wind it all up again. It's a heavy task I find daunting. Tonight I didn't have the energy, and found it easier to just carry a watering can back and forth to the spigot.
After about seven or eight trips, my back started to complain and so did I. And then of course the thought followed: "There are women in Africa who have to carry gallons of water a mile or more for their families every day. Surely I can cross a parking lot." And after that it wasn't so onerous.
It is a gratifying thing to give a thirsty plant water. You can feel its gratitude. It brings a deeper appreciation for John chp 4, where it speaks of "Living Water." Water is indeed life.
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