Dry and Thirsty

I feel so dry.  Like a sponge that is all dried up and needs to be re-hydrated.  That's what I said to the Lord a few days ago as I was walking the dog. It made me think of Psalm 63:1 "O God, you are my God.  Earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water." Both my statement and this verse are ironic on so many levels; especially, since I live on an island and we are in the middle of the rainy season.  It's been anything but "dry."  LOL.  But the reality is that I while I am surrounded by water and being rained on at the moment- I live on dry land.   A dry land that is full of violence.  A land that is tired and weary.  A land that is busy, busy, busy.  A land that is desperate.  A land that is probably not much different than other places but a land that is dry none the less.
As I continued to walk up the road, I turned the corner to begin my journey back the other direction on the Board Walk.  The Board Walk is along the ocean.  The Lord reminded me that the kind of water that we drink is important.  More often than not, we drink from the ocean which may seem refreshing at first, but only makes us more thirsty in the long run.  The more thirsty we get, the more we drink and the more we drink- the more we place ourselves at risk for dehydration and kidney failure.   We must drinking fresh water.  Water that is pure and gives life.  Water from the Living Spring.
So, with this awareness- why do we drink from the ocean and not from the Living Spring?  Why do we turn on the tv instead of listening to a Christian CD?  Why do we find going out and having a few drinks more comforting than sitting down and  reading a few passages from the scriptures?  Why do we choose to lay down and take a nap instead of getting on our knees and spending a few minutes with our Creator?  Please understand that as I ask these questions that I am in essence-"preaching to the choir."  Even though I am a pastor, a Christian, a servant of the Lord, a Christ follower- whatever label you want to place on me- I too  drink from the ocean sometimes.  Why?  Why, do I allow myself to fall into the trap?  Why do I find it such a chore sometimes to drag my butt up out of bed in the morning and to open my Bible to see what God has for me that day?  Why do I sometimes insist on drinking from the ocean? I know that sometimes I drink from the ocean because I suffer from the Martha syndrome.  The island is in such need.  There is so much work to be done and so many lives to be touched.  The people are so thirsty from all of the ocean water they have been drinking.  And, I LOVE to be so busy doing the Lord's work that sometimes, I don't stop  to be like Mary- to drink from the Living Springs. How about you? Why do you drink from the ocean? 
I'm so incredibly thankful that when I become to Martha"ish" and start to feel dry that the Lord speaks to my spirit so that I can confess and make the choice to correct the situation. 
My prayer today is to be filled with the Living Water.  Filled to overflowing so that those who are dry can stand next to me with their cups and begin to be filled with the blessing of the same Living Water that He has given me so that the land that is dry will soon be re-hydrated with Water that will bring new Life.