God as Water

Last weekend I went to a women's retreat with women from our church. The theme of the retreat was water. There are many different kinds of water- peaceful water to chaotic water. Israelites viewed water as chaos. Jesus calms the chaos and he is the living water. As I was thinking about different forms of water I was thinking about how water can destroy and it can also make things grow. Isn't that interesting to think about? God- as living water is our sustenance. Without him we would not and cannot grow. As I was reading different passages about water I read Psalm 107:29 and it says God is so powerful he can calm a storm to a whisper! How amazing is that?? If he can do that think of how much he can calm the craziness and chaos in our lives. Another cool thing that I learned at the retreat is found in Ezekiel 47: 6b- 9. It says "Then he led me back to the bank of the river. When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river. He said to me, 'This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah where it enters the Sea. When it empties into the Sea, the water there becomes fresh. Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh' " How cool is that?? I had never really thought about that passage before. If God is the river, wherever he flows he is cleansing and making it pure. God as the river flows into us (the sea) and when he fills us with his living water we in turn are able to touch the lives of those around us through encouragement and support.

So, where did I see God this past weekend?
I saw him in the silliness and joy of those around me at the retreat. He was in every moment of deep and lighthearted laughter. (Which there was alot of!)
He was also in each peaceful and soul searching moment of quietness throughout Saturday.
God was in the beautiful winter day as well.
He was in each meaningful conversation I had with my sisters in Christ.
Last but not least he was in the amazing Sunset over Lake Michigan Saturday night. (See Below pics)