Several years ago, my husband found an old hand water pump in his customer’s garbage and brought it home to create a lovely water feature in the corner of our yard. Like an abundant wellspring, water streams continuously from the pump into a small metal bucket and then a large barrel.
The overflow waters the flowers planted among the rocks around the barrel, and there is constant chatter from birds of all sizes socializing, drinking, and bathing. Sometimes a family of deer visits, and in the morning, the barrel is empty, and the water has stopped pumping.
My grandchildren love to play in the barrel and believe the water comes from a spring in the ground. One day, my young granddaughter noticed the water wasn’t flowing and yelled to me, very concerned, ‘Abuela, the spring is dry!”
I nodded my head, thinking, that’s exactly how I feel on some days. There is no way I can be a source of nourishment for others when I can barely get through the day myself. And then we filled up the barrel together, and water flowed from the pump again. To her, it was amazing. We had saved the day.
I believe most people sense that we are so much more than simply flesh and blood. There is a divine source of life, God’s wellspring of spirit, creativity, and goodness of unfathomable depth within each of us. Sometimes we lose touch with that source. Sometimes just the daily work of life cuts it off, and we struggle to be who we want to be, who we know we can be.
Sometimes we forget we are God’s creation of love. When I find that happening, I turn to Psalms 139 and reflect, especially, on these beautiful words: “You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are your works! My very self you know.” (Psalms 139:13-14)
I am learning to spend time unraveling the weeds and pulling out the stones, one by one, that is holding back my wellspring, aided by one little person who reminded me I am worth the time when she threw her arms around my waist and said, “Abuela, what would the birds do without you?!”
More like, what would I do without the birds? But it never hurts to see yourself through the eyes of those who love you. Wonderfully made.
Mary Regina Morrell is a Catholic journalist, author, and syndicated columnist who has served the dioceses of Metuchen and Trenton, New Jersey, and RENEW International in the areas of catechesis and communication.