The angel brought me, Ezekiel,
back to the entrance of the temple of the LORD,
and I saw water flowing out
from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east,
for the façade of the temple was toward the east;
the water flowed down from the right side of the temple,
south of the altar…

…Then he brought me to the bank of the river, where he had me sit.
Along the bank of the river I saw very many trees on both sides.
He said to me,
“This water flows into the eastern district down upon the Arabah,
and empties into the sea, the salt waters, which it makes fresh.
Wherever the river flows,
every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live,
and there shall be abundant fish,
for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh.
Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow;
their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail.
Every month they shall bear fresh fruit,
for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary.
Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine.” – EZ 47:1-9, 12

In the early months of 1978, I was a college sophomore. It was sometime in those months that my father was diagnosed with a brain tumor and given three to six months to live. To say his diagnosis rocked my family is an understatement. He was just 50 years old and had a wife and five children under the age of 20. I was the oldest of the children and did not know how to behave in this new family situation. Looking back, I will say that my youthful optimism did not totally disappear, but the cancer was present in my mind all the time.

My dad was born in the late 1920s and from what he would tell us, times were not easy for him. His home life did not seem very stable. His childhood stories though were not negative, just matter-of-fact. It seemed he was expelled from the local schools and this should have been upsetting but, from pictures and stories, it seemed he lived his young life carefree, reckless, and directionless. Then he was drafted into World War II and found himself in Germany towards the war’s end. His experiences there changed the way he viewed his life, and when he returned to New Jersey he eventually thought he might become a Catholic priest. He visited a seminary and was communicating with a few Catholic nuns, but eventually he changed direction, met my mom, and no, he didn’t become a priest. He did however remain a spiritual person, attended Mass regularly, received the Catholic sacraments regularly. Most of all, he had a very alive, active faith in Jesus Christ, as Son of God, Savior and Friend. Most conversations  with him would eventually turn to Jesus.

When he was diagnosed with cancer, he was already taking long walks all over our town and neighboring towns, and while he always met other people on these travels, I have to believe he was often in conversation with Jesus, his best friend. After his diagnosis these walks continued, and one day he returned home to tell me this story. He said that on his walk he was asking God why he had been stricken ill, because he had a family and all those children and how were we going to make it without him to provide for all of us. He was very worried for us. And he said he received this answer. The answer was “Don’t worry, Henry (his name). Always remember the Abundant Stream.” And he asked me, “What do you think that meant, Regina?”

Through the years I have thought to answer this question many times. I have always believed that the stream is representative of God’s abundant generosity, of His promise to care for widows and orphans, of His gifts to us all of His Son Jesus and His Holy Spirit. When I started to read the Bible, many scripture verses reinforced this concept. In Psalm 23, which we memorized as a family here, the psalmist wrote “My cup overflows.” Our cups, our lives, cannot ever hold God’s generosity. His generosity cannot be contained in the smallness of our imaginations.

Today’s verse is written in the book of the prophet Ezekial. Ezekial tells of a vision he is given of a beautiful stream that flows from God’s Temple, whose waters make salt waters fresh, nourishing all forms of life along its banks, fish and fruit trees, for food and for healing. Wow. What an incredible vision. It’s a vision of restoration. God is restoring what was destroyed by man’s sinful nature, and He is giving now His Nourishment and His Healing. The heading of the verse in this translation is “The Wonderful Stream.” I wonder if my dad is enjoying the abundant goodness of God somewhere near a beautiful stream.

I have lived here in this house now for 25 years. I moved here with my husband and my son. My daughter was born 4 years later. It has been a good house in a safe neighborhood to raise kids. This house is full of memories of family and of love. But things change. My husband is gone now. Time goes on its strong way. We may need to move from here. It’s a very hard thing to face. I don’t really want to leave. I admit I am afraid to go. But I need to believe that if we go, it is the Stream that will bring us to the next home, the next place, and the Stream will continue to flow there.

In one of my favorite Gospel stories, Jesus tells the Samaritan woman, “… whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:14) What can be greater than this Water, the spring that Jesus gives us to drink from? I will follow him, my Shepherd Jesus, to the abundant Stream of God. Jesus is God’s abundant generous Grace.

The book of Ezekial ends with this verse which describes now this new city which God has created, “From now on the name of the city is “The LORD is there.” (Ezekial 48:35.) I will try to remember that it is Jesus who is my Stream. Where He is, is my home. “The Lord is there.”

Prayer for today:

Lord God, You are Wonderful. Jesus, stay with us. Be our strength.

In Jesus Precious Name I pray,

Amen