“As the deer longs for the water-brooks, so longs my soul for you, O God. My soul is athirst for God, athirst for the living God,” the psalmist proclaims. I know my soul is athirst for God; yours is too, whether you know it or not. “Our hearts are restless until they find rest in you, O God,” is how St. Augustine describes that thirst of ours.

Like one dying of thirst in a desert wasteland, we all rush to each mirage that gets our attention, expecting to find just what we need to save us, only to find it an illusion. It is only divine living water that can assuage our thirst, but it takes most of us a long time to discover that. As we go through life, we find the alluring mirages that we reach toward don’t satisfy, even when we gain what we thought was just what we were looking for. I know where I have wasted my time and energy on what I thought I wanted, what culture told me I needed, only to find those things empty. What about you? Take a few minutes to reflect on the ways you have looked for something to fulfill your deepest desires, the things that have eventually fallen short of your expectations, leaving you longing for something else. As St. Augustine said, that something else is an intimate relationship with the Beloved, the One who meets our every need.

Developing a personal relationship with God starts with our surrender, letting go of doing it “my way”, trusting the Holy One to be there, to uphold us in all the circumstances of life. When we realize that relationship is what is missing in our lives, it takes our intention to be open and available to what God brings our way to enable us to grow in love, to walk in the way of Christ Jesus. As with any relationship, it means spending time with the Beloved, time listening to God’s holy word in scripture, time soaking in prayer and meditation, time relishing God’s creation, time focusing on all God’s children. As we do so, we find God’s living water filling us, one drop at a time until we are overflowing with joy and delight in God’s presence day by day.