THE WELL WE DRAW FROM  By Lori A Alicea

Her life was a deep well to draw from.

The splashing of water spills over from bucket to bucket, colliding with one another from broken sisters lowering their needs into the well of this woman’s life, drawing forth a cup of refreshment from the Lord she was offering.

A drink…

To quench a lonely heart…

To survive another day…

To give hope for tomorrow…

To encourage the discouraged…

From a well that never went dry in the Lord, we drank.

I knew her well.

Pastor of Ladies Ministry; we called her Pastor Sue.

In her china cabinet of Ladies Ministry, each broken china doll was displayed as beautiful; never acknowledging the cracks of our lives, only giving us a special place and purpose to belong, to find healing, to be loved.

And that we did.

A newly single mother with two small children and walking thru doors of this church for the first Sunday that week thirty-three years ago, I hadn’t realized how parched and thirsty for a drink from the Lord I needed.

When you’re tilling up the fields of new beginnings, one fails to assess their “strength of heart” when those children you hold in your arms depend on their mother from fainting not.

A cup of cool water filled to its brim was handed to me as I stood in my brokenness at the well of this woman’s life.

Ladies ministering to ladies…

Continually pouring into our cups from the buckets drawn from God’s love the ladies served…

Being the example before us, Pastor Sue served from the posture of servant as Jesus served.

With an open hand Pastor Sue she gave, she lavished and poured out generously as Jesus did so with his life.

Pastor Sue taught us daughters by example and portrait titled Virtuous Woman from the gallery in her role as wife, mother and friend.

Pastor Sue drank from the well of Living Water, and served those desperate for a drink from the same well in her life.

As a young mother I watched and learned and I drank; eventually pouring into the cups of broken women thirsty and desperate for a drink themselves.

I’ve never forgotten the friendship and deep well of Pastor Sue’s life.

Facebook photo from Tina Freeman

She modeled a life of Christ that had you thirsting for more of Him.

Pastor Sue took us to the shallow wells of bitterness, wells of rejection, the wells of sorrow, we might drinking from.

Then showed us how to close up those wells, and take us to the deep places, where the splashing of water spills over from bucket to bucket, colliding with one another from broken sisters lowering their needs into the well of this woman’s life, drawing forth a cup of refreshment from the Lord she was offering.

The pages of Pastor Sue’s life are found and read from the scriptures where the older teach the younger the truths of a virtuous woman; an amazing read which still has a place on the shelf of this mother, now grandmother’s heart.

These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the word of God.
Titus 2:4-5 NLT