Sarah woke up to another day with an insatiable thirst. She wondered if she would ever be able to quench it. She checked her water jug only to discover it was bone dry. She knew she would have to wait until afternoon to fill it up at the community well.
Sometimes she couldn’t believe all that had happened to her. She got married at an early age and that marriage did not work out and it ended in divorce. She remarried four more times and the same thing happened to her. Divorce was an extremely shameful thing at that time and in that society. She thought she would try something different this time and was merely living with this man. It was like something was missing from her life and she was desperately trying to find it.
During this time she had become an outcast in her own village, especially with the women. They would give her dirty looks, call her names and ridicule her. She had learned to avoid them at all costs. She needed to go to the community well to draw some water but knew the women of the village would be there throughout the morning when the temperature was much cooler. She would do chores around the house until mid-afternoon. It would be much hotter at the well then but she would much rather face the burning sensation of the scorching, midday sun than experience the sharp barbs of those women’s comments. After lunch she grabbed her clay pot and headed for the well.
As she approached the well she noticed one lone man there. She didn’t recognize him but he was sitting there as if he was waiting for her. She had no idea her life was about to be changed forever with this encounter she was about to have with this man. When he began talking to her his accent gave him away. He was Jewish….. and she was Samaritan. This was very unusual as Jews had a great disdain for Samaritans.
It was quite a deep and lengthy conversation and Sarah could tell the longer they talked the more special this man was. It finally came to an end and she started to walk back to her village. She began to feel the guilt and shame evaporate from her life as she was mystically directed to her mother’s house and not her own. Along the way she began sharing with others this encounter she had experienced earlier. Upon arrival she went to bed and fell fast asleep. She woke up the next morning with an unusual feeling. A huge smile had spread across her face when she realized what it was. She was no longer thirsty.
Sometimes she couldn’t believe all that had happened to her. She got married at an early age and that marriage did not work out and it ended in divorce. She remarried four more times and the same thing happened to her. Divorce was an extremely shameful thing at that time and in that society. She thought she would try something different this time and was merely living with this man. It was like something was missing from her life and she was desperately trying to find it.
During this time she had become an outcast in her own village, especially with the women. They would give her dirty looks, call her names and ridicule her. She had learned to avoid them at all costs. She needed to go to the community well to draw some water but knew the women of the village would be there throughout the morning when the temperature was much cooler. She would do chores around the house until mid-afternoon. It would be much hotter at the well then but she would much rather face the burning sensation of the scorching, midday sun than experience the sharp barbs of those women’s comments. After lunch she grabbed her clay pot and headed for the well.
As she approached the well she noticed one lone man there. She didn’t recognize him but he was sitting there as if he was waiting for her. She had no idea her life was about to be changed forever with this encounter she was about to have with this man. When he began talking to her his accent gave him away. He was Jewish….. and she was Samaritan. This was very unusual as Jews had a great disdain for Samaritans.
It was quite a deep and lengthy conversation and Sarah could tell the longer they talked the more special this man was. It finally came to an end and she started to walk back to her village. She began to feel the guilt and shame evaporate from her life as she was mystically directed to her mother’s house and not her own. Along the way she began sharing with others this encounter she had experienced earlier. Upon arrival she went to bed and fell fast asleep. She woke up the next morning with an unusual feeling. A huge smile had spread across her face when she realized what it was. She was no longer thirsty.
