From the time I was a young girl, men have looked at me. Well, except for the one man I wanted attention from the most. My father. I longed for him to tell me how important I was to him. He was too caught up in being an official in our town. He was very busy with my brothers. I hated how he treated my mother; with no respect. I noticed when men began to pay attention to me and I liked it. I quickly figured out how to make their glances turn into longer stares. I had no idea it would turn into a lifestyle that would bring so much hurt and shame. I just wanted anyone to love me.
My first husband was very much like my father. That isn’t surprising because my father had arranged the marriage. He chose a family who raised their son to be much like my father raised my brothers; cold and calculating, treating women like possessions. I tried to be a good wife to him but I just couldn’t bear it any longer. When another man promised me a better life, I left. The shame was unbearable but the pain of living with my first husband was worse. For a while, life was better with this man but then he began to distrust me. He said it was my fault that men were looking at me constantly. He told me my beauty was a curse to him. When you start a relationship built on lies and adultery, I am not sure it has much of a chance to thrive. I think the shame of living with an unfaithful person was too much for him to bear also. Eventually, he threw me away like a piece of garbage.
Since that time, I have floundered going from man to man trying to find someone who would love me for something other than what I could do for them. My distrust of men fills every part of my being. The man I am with now is a good man although I do not love him. It is more of an arrangement. He takes care of me and I respect him enough to take care of him. I do not have any friends. I am sure that women feel like I am going to steal their husbands so they don’t want to associate with me. I was not welcomed into the temple, the market, or even on the streets of Samaria. My life was lonely and I kept to myself much of the time. That is why I chose to go draw water at the well in the hottest part of the day. Most people would be taking naps during that time so I could avoid their mocking eyes. It was just easier that way.
As I approached the well, I saw a man resting close by. I purposely avoided eye contact because as I got closer, I recognized that he was Jewish, and therefore, would have very little regard for me. To my surprise, he spoke to me and asked for a drink. I was suspicious of him and asked why he would bother to speak to me. The moment that I looked into his eyes, something inside of me trembled. It was as if he could read my mind. He knew everything about my sordid past and kept telling me about this special water he had for me. I knew he was a prophet. I asked him about the Christ, Messiah that I had been hearing about. Perhaps, he would know more. Although I tried, I couldn’t stop looking at his eyes. There was tenderness in them that I had never seen before. His voice was soothing to me. Who was this man?
When he spoke again, it was to tell me that He was the Messiah. I knew, somehow, that He indeed was telling me the truth. The special water that He spoke about was to quench the thirst of love I had craved my entire life. I melted inside because He wasn’t condemning like every other man I knew. He genuinely cared for me and the kind of love He had would change my life forever. I was so flabbergasted that when I turned to go home, I completely forgot my water pitcher. I had to tell others about this man, the Messiah. For the first time in as long as I could remember, there was no shame. I held my head high and began sharing with everyone I saw about the man at the well. They could see the light in my eyes realized that something had changed. They began searching for this man so they could meet Him. They began to believe also that this man was the savior of the world.
For days, the townspeople and myself listened to Him as He told us more about the water that could change the world. He told us about a God of love that sent Him to ultimately be the sacrifice for our sins. He told us about a forgiveness that I had only ever dreamed about. The love that was in His eyes that day seemed to multiply as He spoke to each person. I hung on every word He spoke. He offered all eternal hope.
The man I met at the well that day was Jesus. Will you come with me to meet Him too?
(Adapted from John 4:1-42)
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