You know that feeling when your throat is getting dry and pasty?? When that hangy down thing (uvula...sp?) is so dry it sticks to the sides of your throat as you swallow. Each time you attempt to work up enough saliva to moisten the parched lining of your mouth and the effort becomes slightly more painful than the last??
My soul feels that way...like I set out for a long journey without enough water. The demands of life, school, work, finances, and family can create a sense of despair. And I long for that feeling of refreshment when I reach the next source of life-sustaining spiritual water.
Why does it seem like that source is part of the time-space continuum? Shouldn't we be able to access those times of refreshing at will? God is certainly near...immanent...ever-present. But it's more than the simple utterance of a prayer at times. It's a desert journey...perhaps a dark night of the soul...a long remote and arduous stretch of trail to be traveled.
I liken it to those times that I'm on my bike...riding the fifty mile route or more. I can take two full 22oz water bottles on the bike with me. But those are usually only good for 30 miles or so. So I have to go the last 20 miles without water or take some detour which will lead me to that liquid of life. Right now I'm on that last 20 mile stretch. The reward is going to be great...the exhilaration of finishing this leg of the race will fill with a sense of accomplishment.
But I've got a few miles to go!
