PUDDLES

On a day after a heavy rain it is too muddy to take the Meadow Trail. By the next day I decided that enough time has gone by for the rain to seep into the soil and I return to my regular route. Watching my feet so as to avoid any lingering muddy patches I am caught off guard for there at my feet is the sky! One large puddle that stretches the width of the path is so still and so clear that it reflects the sky and the trees above it. I gingerly tiptoe around it, not wanting to cause any ripples that would spoil this natural mirror.

Days go by, the puddle is still there, although a bit smaller. Leaves and dirt have fallen on its surface. Although there is still a reflection there are now things floating on the puddle that distracts from the perfect reflection.

Several days later the temperature drops. The puddle freezes over, trapping the tree droppings in its ice.

The puddle gets smaller with each passing day leaving a growing gooey, muddy border. The only thought while passing is to avoid the mess.

Not too far from the Meadow Trail a bridge crosses over the San Lorenzo River. As I stop and look over the bridge once again I see the sky. The water reflects yellow leaves, bare brown branches, bright blue sky and then I’m struck by a bright light. The sun had risen above the trees and the river bounced the light right back.

The difference between the the puddle and the river become clear to me. The puddle was fed once by the rain from above. It basked in the light enjoying a time of reflection. Yet as time passes those that encountered the puddle notice that the glow has faded, has become murky, frozen, muddy. Right below the bridge a small creek feeds into the river, constantly bringing new life. The water, though it is still enough to reflect, it is always moving forward.

God says through the prophet Jeremiah, “My people have committed two sins; They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”

Jesus said that He is the Living Water. May we always be fed by Him and reflect Him. May we not become a muddy puddle.