The River of Life

"My joy is full..."

With tears in her eyes, my wife leaned over and whispered those tender words to me, as we sat on a blanket under a large shade tree, having a wonderful picnic together with my daughter and my wife's sister. 

It was a little taste of Heaven—a sweet time of just being family. 

We have been blessed with an amazing restoration that has continued in our family.  A coming together.  A season where, more and more, we are seeing God move on the hearts of some of the people we love the most. A time of salvation.  A time of grace.

A time of love.

When we talk about the old days, and we recollect where we've been, and what we've been through—and then we recall where God has brought us—into sweet times like what we are experiencing today, one has to wonder, can it get any better than this?

But it just keeps getting better.

It's hard to believe that my wife and I endured our painful and destructive decade of seven separations, two divorce proceedings and adultery.  It just doesn't make sense that we are here today, more happily married than ever, and our joy is so full.  I said to my daughter and sister-in-law: "We shouldn't even be together here today."

But here we are.

And these kinds of tender, sweet moments with my wife just keep getting sweeter.  I literally shudder with a chill when I think back to those dark days, months and years when we were so at odds with each other.  When our home was so cold, dark and filled with loneliness and malice. When our marriage was dead. Such a loveless season.  A season that was devoid of hope.

But now our home and life together is filled with joy and singing.  My wife has a song in her heart every morning. She brings sunshine into my life every day. 

This is a verse from a 'just because' card my wife gave me a couple of years ago, that we found in a basket under the coffee table:

"I'm forever yours... because only with you, can I capture a moment where I know what it's like to feel Heaven."

We have experienced this kind of love and joy only because we have come together and fallen into the depths of the River of Life.

One of my mom's favorite old hymns has a line in the chorus that says:

"Come to the water, there is a vast supply—there is a River, that never shall run dry."

The River of Life springs forth perpetually.  Our eternal source of joy, peace, hope, mercy and love never ceases, no matter if our temporary circumstances are wonderful....or tragic. 

Today we visited my mom's grave site.  We recalled wonderful memories of happy times spent with mom, and the love we shared.  And we had times of tears, stunned by the fact that we are estranged today from some of our family members.  My mom was always the 'glue' that held our family together.  Since she went home to be with her Savior, our family has slowly continued to drift apart.  My daughter said, sobbing, "We used to all be so close..."

Our hope and prayer is that one day, our entire family will enjoy a sweet taste of Heaven like the four of us did today.

The Spirit of God is the eternal River of Life.  Jesus Christ is the source of all that is pure, joyous, true, wonderful, good and holy.  He is Love.  He is constantly available to all who will come to Him and drink. All those who drink of the living water that He gives—the River of Life—will never thirst again.

Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well:

“Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. And the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” - (John 4:13-14)

The only reason our marriage is so alive and filled with joy today, is because we surrendered our hearts and our hurts to the Savior who freely offers the fountain of water that springs up into everlasting life. And we continue to come to the water and drink, every day.  There is an endless supply.

The River of Life is Jesus Christ, and He is freely available to all.

Come to Him today and drink. Fall into the depths of His love.

     -You will never thirst again.



—God is Love, and Love Never Fails.