After twenty-five years of living in Nova Scotia, I have never lost my awe of the sometimes calm, sometimes boisterous waves of the Atlantic Ocean. Before moving here from Ontario, we read that you are always within thirty-five miles of the sea in “Canada’s Ocean Playground.” Although I grew up not far from Lake Huron, the waters of Nova Scotia promised to be endless.
Our oldest daughter, Ruthmarie, lives in an ocean town built on a peninsula. We love going for walks on the beach during visits. I give our little grandson my rapt attention as he identifies small sea creatures, examines seaweed, and teaches me about a variety of fish. He is growing up in a setting that feels idyllic and peaceful.
But 2025 has brought some challenges. Nova Scotia has suffered drought conditions and out-of-control forest fires. Our daughter’s town has been affected, with wells dried up and water usage prioritized. There is enough water for the school, but the small library is closed. Ruthmarie is using bottled water for drinking, but filling up jugs at the fire hall for other purposes, and rationing it. With the proximity of the ocean, I am reminded of the words of English poet Samuel Coleridge: “Water, water, every where [but] not a drop to drink (The Rime of the Ancient Mariner).”
We all experience times of complexity, problems, and grief. The answers may not seem immediately apparent. I have something to offer you.
In my Bible readings, a familiar passage from John spoke to my heart: “On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, ‘Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart (John 7: 37 – 38, NLT).'”
Imagine this: Jesus, a young man in his early thirties, acutely aware of both his identity and his destiny, stands at the temple, and passionately beseeches the crowds to come to him, to bring their thirsty hearts to him, and drink the water he can give them. Jesus is not referring to water of this earth, water that dries up in a drought or surrounds a town, but can’t meet its needs. This water is the Holy Spirit, available to all who believe, water that brings faith, comfort, hope, and the only true peace our world can ever know.
This Christmas, fill up your wells with Jesus. Focus with renewed passion on the true significance of the stable birth. Jesus is the greatest gift of all! God bless you!
Merry Christmas!