What's in your back yard?

I grew up living in military housing. The houses were small, plain and simple. My mother always made time for wallpapering and decorating to make our space more desirable but trust me, PMQ’s (permanent married quarters) as they called them had their limits.

I can remember moving into a civilian house of our own. We drove into the quaint little cul-de-sac of our new neighborhood and parked in front of a modest ranch style bungalow. My sister and I burst into that house like we were on an episode of Extreme Home Makeover, only no-one said “move that bus!” We ran around each room, claimed which ones would be ours and ended up in my parents master bedroom breathless and peeking out of their windows. As we looked, my sister and I gasped simultaneously and then I said: “NO FAIR! Our neighbors have a pool in OUR back yard!” My parents giggled. “That’s not our neighbors pool, my mom said. It’s ours.” Two squealing girls went wild with excitement and danced around the room in a fit of joyous laughter. OUR pool?! Can we jump in? Can we jump in? (My parents love to tell that story.)

In your Christian life, have you ever felt like a little girl peeking into your own back yard and not feeling worthy enough to receive something so extravagant? I sure have. I have asked for forgiveness and even as the Lord presented the nourishing drink of salvation, like the pool in my back yard, I still questioned. I still thought that somehow it wasn’t meant for me. I punished myself for the sins that Jesus had already erased clean. I’ve had thoughts like: THAT gift is for HER, not me and I can’t tell you how many times I have shyly turned the other way thinking that someone else was better gifted than I was for doing the Lord’s work. Don’t believe the lies friends. That pool in your back yard? It’s not your neighbors! It’s yours! Accept it. Swim in it! Be thankful for it! Don’t let your spiritual life dry up because you’re afraid to dive into your own pool of salvation! Dive in and begin to let God transform your life in ways you never knew possible. I’ve chosen to jump in and I can tell you, it’s refreshing and I have found myself dancing in fits of joyous laughter because of it, just like when I was a little girl.

Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.

Romans 8:32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?

John 4:10 Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."