The Well Pump

Dad's well pump 'went out' on Saturday. It broke down completely, never to be used again. Disastrous, right? Not so much, at least not anymore.A number of years ago, both my Dad's home on the farm and my brothers home, which is the main site of our farm, received 'city water'. A rural water district ran lines throughout the countryside, encouraging locals along the way to 'buy' into the opportunity to have this 'new' reliable source of water. Having grown up with only well water and cistern water (and if this doesn't make any sense to you, my explaining it here won't really help you understand), having water available without having to haul it in dry seasons or having to deal with hard water deposits in the water lines was a huge plus. Additionally, at the time the water lines came through the countryside, we were still milking cows and the health requirements of dairy farms stipulated that, if purified water were available, the farm must use it in the milk house and all milking processes. So, the farm got 'city water' and Dad's cattle can be watered with city water until the well pump is replaced. Nice option.

All of which got me to thinking about those people and places who are not nearly so fortunate to have such options. You know those places, where children and mothers walk for miles to get to a source of water (never mind whether it is clean water or not) and then have to carry those few meager gallons back to their home, just to repeat the process all over again the next day. You know those places, where a stream suffices for a laundry, where the same stream is the place of watering for the cattle and sheep who pasture nearby, where that same stream is the place of bathing for communities of people who have no access to running water near their homes and where water for cooking is scooped out with hand turned crocks. You know those places, you have seen them in National Geographic and in the news, you have heard about them in hushed Sunday School tones and in pleas for assistance, and you have pondered their plight while turning on the tap to wash your hands so that you wouldn't have to deal with germs which might ruin your day. You know those places . . . and pray that you never become one of them. Such is our affluence.

My brother called me this morning to tell me that Dad is purchaing a new pump which we will install in the days ahead. Another nice option. I'm not complaining . . . and am incredibly grateful that in this place and time we have the luxury, not only of running water, but of different kinds of running water. Yet, my conscience calls me out and my spirit keeps me honest. Many of my brothers and sisters do not have such amenities in life and they, as Jesus says, are the least among us. For such as these is God's priority . . . not for the ones who choose which water they will use without also assisting those who have no such choice. It is something to ponder . . . as health advocates remind us of how many 8 ounce glasses of water to consume each day in order to maintain and/or reduce our body fat. There are many in the world who are dying for the opportunity to have body fat, much less to worry about how to maintain it with gallons of cool clean water each day.

When the pump breaks down and there is no other to replace it, when you turn on the tap and nothing flows out and there is no fixing the 'city water' lines, where will you turn? Who will assist you? Just something to ponder on the way to Jerusalem, while announcing the good news of the nearness of the Kingdom.