So all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth.

~Genesis 26:15 (New International Version)~

I was thinking earlier today about where I have been in this lifetime and where I want to go from here.  My thoughts went back to the people in my life with whom I might have unfinished business.  There are relationships that ended abruptly due to circumstances beyond my control.  There are some that ended because at the time, I had nothing more to give.  There are others who drifted away because our bond either wasn’t strong enough or actually didn’t exist.  Whatever the reason, I’ve had lots of friends drift in and out of my life without any explanation at all and I’ve often wondered why. 

As I have grown up and evolved from a single woman to someone’s wife to someone’s mother and now, back to a single woman, my views on these relationships has undergone a shift.  In looking back at these “wells,” I see that there is no need to attempt to go back and draw anything from them.  They are either dried up or filled with something other than the kind of friendship I need.  I can send my bucket down as many times as I want to, but it’s still going to come up empty.  For a time, I thought maybe the problem was with my bucket.  Maybe, as the old song says, there is a hole in my bucket.  Maybe, it’s a vicious cycle and when it all comes down to it, I’ll need a bucket to get the water to wet the stone to sharpen the axe….and so on.  And so, if I continue to believe that the problem lies in the integrity of the bucket, then I am at a loss.  If you do find yourself drawn to an old well and it does, in fact, contain water for you then count yourself blessed.  

What I believe, however; is that my problem lies in the fact that I am sometimes truly afraid of digging a new well.  What if my shovel breaks?  What if I’m in the wrong spot to dig?  What if I do all of this work and someone comes along and takes my water?  Or worse, what if there is no water at all?  These are all valid questions and I believe that I have finally found a good answer in Genesis 26:18-22.

¹⁸ Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them. ¹⁹ Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. ²⁰ But the herders of Gerar quarreled with those of Isaac and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek,^[c] because they disputed with him. ²¹ Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.^{[d] 22} He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth,^[e] saying, “Now the LORD has given us room and we will flourish in the land.”

Even if it seems useless to “dig a new well,” you must find a way to replenish your spirit if it has been trampled upon.  In the valley, it may seem easier to spend your time complaining about what you are unable to get or accomplish, but in the end you’ll be left thirsting for something more.  Spend your time digging that well and discovering where your living water is coming from.  Then you will be satisfied.  And God will give you all that you need. 

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