My Turkish bath and thoughts on God

"Without it we'd die, but it could also kill us, and that was why we loved it, even craved it, but also feared it.  Never take water for granted, Jim said.  Always cherish it.  Always beware of it." - Jeanette Walls, Half-Broke Horses.

It only took one day in Morocco for Joe and I to realize how much we had taken water for granted.  I have never thought so much about water as I did during the week we spent in the Marrakech desert.  I was delighted to hold a bottle of water in my hands and to turn on the faucet and wait a few seconds for the water to pump out into the basin so I could brush my teeth.  I was especially grateful to walk in the course green grass in route to the fresh water swimming pool of the hotel.  How lucky are we to have grass between our toes and a swimming pool in the desert?  

I know nothing of desert life.  I didn't know it could be so beautiful and serene especially since I am a beach baby at heart.  My Spirit burst forth in song at the sight of the ocean.  I dream of sailing, floating on carribean waters in a float, and lying for hours on the white sand beaches with a margarita and book in my hand.  I didn't expect to find such solace in the desert which would not have been possible if not for access to clean water which satisfied our thirst and allowed us to dip in the swimming pool when the heat overwhelmed us.

Now I sat under the Turkish sun, pool side with the most gorgeous Mediterranean beach calling my name for an afternoon swim.  The water is abundant.  God created the world in such a way and designed us in a similar way.  We need water.  70% of the planet is comprised of ocean water and 60% of the human body is water.  We must have on-going access to abundant water for our survival and livelihood.  The Bible is full of references and parables of God turning desert wastelands into springs of water and offering us wellsprings of life. "He turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs; there he brought the hungry to live, and they founded a city where they could settle. They sowed fields and planted vineyards that yielded a fruitful harvest." Psalm 107:35-37

Yesterday, I experienced the great luxury of a Turkish bath.  The use of water was scandalous and shocking.  It was so freely used and abundant ~it felt rebellious.  I was taken into a private steamed room with beautiful tiles and a single bed made of marble.  I felt like Queen Ester undergoing beauty treatments!  There was a huge water basin in the corner with the faucet running as the basin overflowed with water.  I layed on the marble bed as the Turkish miracle-worker poured pitchers of warm water over my body.  It felt incredible. I wasn't immersed in water, rather the water was immersing me.  The next part of the Turkish bath was exfoliation and scrubbing off of old dead skin cells.  It is important to remove the dead skin cells so regeneration of new skin cells can happen.  Next was my favorite part of all, the Turkish miracle worker gave me a foam bath.  It was very ritualistic in the way I had imagined a turkish bath.  She created foam through a sheer white towel causing it to bubble and placing it over me.  I haven't been bathed by anyone since I was a girl and it was such a luxury to be cared for in such a way.  Of course, I felt vulnerable and somewhat guilty, but after asking myself why...I concluded I could receive the luxury and care of another and be grateful for it. 

This entire Turkish bath experience was a spot-on analogy to my relationship with Christ.  There was a story in the Bible about a woman who was so shamed by her community she went to draw water from the well in the heat of the day.  She was shamed because she was an unfaithful woman looking for her significance and worth in the men she dated.   I tried that well too and it dried up very quickly.  This was the encounter she had with Christ: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+4&version=NIV

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13

In the Turkish bath, I experienced living water that carried energy and saturated the air, skin and everything it touched.  It wasn't scarce, it was a flowing force that scraped away the deadness in me and cleansed me so new life could abound. This is the kind of life I have found in Christ.  It is a faucet of the heart that never runs dry.