This photo intrigues me - being a connoisseur of Autumn splendor I wanted to get the leaves in the water up close.  But something else has occurred to me besides pretty leaves.  The sunlight on the top leaf is very harsh and glaring, but you can see a difference in the part of the leaf that is under water.  The water diffuses the light and causes the leaf to look more vibrant.  On the rocks you can see where the water has allowed the light through more in some places than others, as it chooses.


Life is harsh and sometimes we feel blinded and washed out, bleached really.  We can become a sad comparison to who we were created to be, and perhaps was at one time.  Jesus is the living water and He can and does diffuse the harshness that comes at us day by day.  Although what I just typed is very true you might be thinking, "well, there is no "Lake Jesus" that I can physically dive into and I'm feeling bleached and worn out!"  So what now?  How about an analogy:


When I think of the most enjoyable and fulfilled time in my life I think of when I was falling in love with the man who would  become my husband.  I was in college and everything went through the filter of falling in love.  I cared about my grades but if I had one bad test or if someone became angry with me it didn't sink into my core.  There was a truth that I kept with me all day long.  He would find me on campus and flash me a winning smile that was just for me,  sometimes give me a note to let me know what he was thinking.  He loved me and he believed in me, no matter what.  Maybe I had a bad test, but he was there and thought well of me and that was more important.  Maybe someone treated me rudely but his believing in me meant more. 


What if we could use God's love to diffuse life the same way my new love did for me?  The same way the water diffuses the light for the leaves, only on a bigger scale?  The fact that I was falling in love with the man I was going to marry didn't change any of the circumstances of my day to day life, and it didn't make problems go away.  They just didn't matter as much as his affection.  Christ goes to bat for us every day and He believes in us, cares for us and wants the best for us.  Allowing God's love to shield us and diffuse life's harsh realities is a choice.


"There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love." (1 John 4:18 MSG)