Samaritan Woman

Hello Friends,

I can't believe I haven't written since Thanksgiving! During the Christmas season, time just seems to go by faster than any other time. Well, we finished up our season on Friday night in the state semi-finals. It was a great season and even though I am looking forward to having my husband back again, I could have went one more week:) I am excited, however, for this weekend. Each year, the first weekend after our season ends my husband takes me to a bed and breakfast to basically say, "How have you been for the last 6 months?" It has been a great tradition that I look forward to every year. This was a result of a lesson we learned being a coaching family-we had to do something to keep the communication lines open and the intimacy alive that can be lost during a hard fought season. We are all learning lessons everyday as wives, moms, professionals, and women.

I wanted to share with you one of the biggest lessons I learned that changed my life in each of these areas. The lesson came from John 4:1-44. I would encourage you to read this before reading on in this entry. Here, we meet a woman that isn't given a name, but is so significant to women today. We will call her the Samaritan woman because she was from a town called Samaria. The Samaritans, in general, were basically outcasts from society for their pagan worship and were considered "unclean" by the Jews. The Jews did not socialize with the Samaritans to say the least so the fact that Jesus would stop and converse with one reveals that Jesus saw this woman like nobody else did-His child. (Just like He sees you and me). In verse 7-Jesus asks the woman for a drink and she questions why He, a Jew, is asking for water from a Samaritan. Jesus replies, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that say to you, 'Give me a drink' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." She is confused and asks Him questions about "this water." She finally figures out that Jesus is the living water that will "never make her thirsty again."

He then tells her to go get her husband and she replies, "I have no husband." Jesus then says, "You are right- you do not have a husband for you have had 5 husbands and the one you live with now is not your husband." She believed He was the Christ and was filled with the living water Jesus talked about. I was much like this woman in the fact that I was trying to make my husband fit the role that only Christ can. And still sometimes do. As a woman, we have emotional needs and spiritual needs and we spend our whole life trying to find a man to meet those needs, just like the Samaritan woman, so when our spouse doesn't live up to our expectations we get frustrated and lonely, but the reality is there is only one man that can meet each and EVERY emotional and spiritual need and that is Christ and Christ alone! Jesus, as the living water, makes you never thirst for anything more. Even sometimes today I find that when Chris and I are having problems-most of the time it is because I am trying to put him in a position that he will fail every time because he is incapable of doing only that which Christ can. When I learned this lesson, I promise you-my marriage was better and my relationship with God was better.

I hope sharing my stories will encourage you in yours! God bless you!!

P.S. Baby update- We are now 15 weeks and feeling great!! Yeah!!!