Oh, Well!

It's difficult initially to determine the depth of a well.

"Oh, well." It may be a shallow resignation, as in "That's the way it is."

"Ohhhhh, well..." It may be a deep exasperation. "I've done everything I could, and that's the way it is."

"Oh, well!" Or it's a splash of exclamation, a sing-songy, "I told you so, and now this is the way it is!"

Why does the word seem to mean defeat, when well and wellness seem to be what everyone is seeking?

Oh, well.

Maybe it's impossible to truly be whole, to be understood, to be seen more deeply than the surface of our being.

I wonder if that's the way the woman at the well felt initially. (John 4:1-25)

But in His presence, she was drawn into conversation.

And in a series of exchanges,

the woman was drawn closer by His immediate acceptance of her,

drawn to curiosity about His knowledge of her (past and present),

and drawn to courageously claim her need of Him: "Living water? What is this living water? Give me some!"

Jesus promises, "Whoever drinks the water I give will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give will become (in her) like a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14

Have you ever shown up at this well...

welling up in fear?

welling up in tears?

drowning in emotion?

desperate to know what wellness is, and if it truly exists, despite the past and present?

Maybe the deeper our felt emotions, the more we are drawn to the Deep calling to deep,

desiring to draw from a Depth greater than our capacity,

to drink from the well-spring of truth,

to quench the question: Can I be well? Truly?

It's asked every day through struggles and hardships,

through trying times of both physical and mental health,

through change, transitions, seasons...

through daily life.

Who can possibly be well?

Maybe those willing to consider the Source:

"There is a really deep well inside me. And in it dwells God. Sometimes I am there, too. But more often stones and grit block the well, and God is buried beneath. Then He must be dug out again." -Etty Hillesum, An Interrupted Life: The Diaries, 1941-1943 during World War II.

To Dwell is to Do-Well, despite circumstances.

To Dwell necessitates reliance upon the Divine-Well.

Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. - John 15:4-6

"Oh, Well!" It has new meaning!

Do you hear the Resignation? "The Well is deep and wide and far more than we can know!"

The Exasperation? "Ah, we are not the Well! God is, thank God!"

Exclamation: "Surely, we are a well within the Well of God!"

Jesus is all about wellness.

And in His numerous interactions with people, we can observe:

Some can sense His wellness and ask about it.

Some don't know where to start, so they just show up.

But those who take the plunge allow Jesus to be the springboard to enter the unknowable depths,

the deep and wide,

the unlimited Goodness,

the Well-Ness that Is God.

We are a well within a Well.

Past or present, through it all, this faith can make us well: