(Talise means beautiful water)
One day The King called to Daniela. “My beautiful
child, I have something to give to you. Up in the mountains is a stream. The
water that flows from it is pure and perfect. It is living and it will give you
great strength and blessing. I want you to have some. Get yourself ready to go
up into the mountains. I want you to be able to bring some of the water back
with you. It is a blessing I have just for you.”
Daniela went home and got ready. She made sure she
had the right clothing and equipment for the journey but she was unsure of
which kind of container to take. She finally settled on a beautiful jug – not
too big to carry, but not too small to keep her from being able to take some of
the water back home with her.
As Daniela climbed, she considered her task. She
knew that by sending her to the stream, the King wanted to bless her. She also
knew that the King had asked her to go on this task for a reason. She couldn’t
help but wonder what it was that the King would teach her. The King’s lessons
were usually very important and also very memorable. Daniela prayed that she
would learn her lesson well. She hoped she would not disappoint the King.
After at least an hour of walking and climbing,
Daniela heard the roaring sound of water. She knew she was close to her task.
Almost at once, there appeared a clearing by the side of the trail and there
was the stream beside it. Daniela sat on a fallen tree branch for a while to
catch her breath then decided to make her way down to the stream’s edge. There
were large boulders and smaller rocks all long the water. She would have to
climb on them and over them to fill her jug with water. Gingerly she stepped
from rock to rock until she got to the water’s edge.
Peering down into the living, lively water, Daniela
knew this was clearly a gift from The King. Somehow she knew this water was
healing. It held grace and peace and joy and everything that The King wanted
for her. She bent down and drank the living water. She took it in and received
it with gladness. The most wonderful feeling of peace and comfort washed over
her. She could have as much as she wanted and she spent a long time there
beside the waters of the living stream. She was blessed by her time there. Even
though she couldn’t see Him, Daniela knew that The King was right there because
she knew His presence.
After Daniela filled her jug completely full of
water, she turned to go. She let out a deep, contented sigh. This had been such
a beautiful time of infilling and restoration in The King and His ways. As she
was stepping away from the water, she noticed that beside the stream sat a girl
no older than 16 looking forlorn. “Can I help you?” Daniela asked kindly. The
girl started to cry. “My name is Talise and I need help,” she said. “The King
has sent me to come and get some of this water but I am disabled and can’t get
down there to fill my container. The rocks are too steep for me.” Daniela was
moved and assured the girl, “Don’t worry, I’ll help you. Here, I’ll come down
from the rocks and fill your jug so you’ll have plenty to take home with you.”
Talise was relieved. “Thank you!” she exclaimed.
As Daniela stepped down from her rock, something
terrible happened. She tripped. All in a split-second’s time, she tried to
regain her footing and maintain control of her jug. It wasn’t to be though,
because both Daniela and her jug fell haphazardly among the rocks. All she could
hear was the crashing of her jug, breaking into a million pieces. Now Daniela
was crying too. What could she do? She had no water to take down the mountain.
She couldn’t help the girl and what was even worse was she couldn’t complete
the task The King Himself had given her. It was a woeful sight on the mountain
- two girls crying because they had let down their King. Finally Daniela
decided that since she was older, she needed to pull herself together and
comfort the younger girl. She painfully picked herself up and went down to
where the other girl was sitting. Before she got there, she started speaking,
“Don’t worry. It’ll be ok.” Talise wasn’t convinced and cried all the more.
“What am I going to tell The King?” she wailed. “Why would He ask me to come up
here anyway? He knows I’m disabled and can’t get to the water.” Daniela was
moved by the young girl’s plight. She decided she didn’t have it so bad. She
knew they could go to The King and tell Him anything and that He’d understand.
She just felt disappointed that she had let Him down. Daniela looked at the
girl with a look of love and reached out to pat her on the shoulder. Suddenly
something strange happened! Water came pouring out of her hand onto the girl.
They both looked stunned. What was happening?
Talise immediately stopped crying and seemed to be
thankfully accepting the water that came pouring down onto her. She was so
calmed and peaceful because of the water, Daniela knew it had to be the water
from the stream. She knew that look and feeling having experienced it just
moments before. In fact, she was experiencing that same feeling of peace again
as the water poured out of her. What was even more amazing is that the water
never ran out. Now they were both crying again. This time their tears were
tears of gratitude and love for The King. Talise opened her mouth and in the
most beautiful voice Daniela had ever heard, began to sing a song to The King:
How priceless
is your unfailing love!
Both high and low among men
find refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on
the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from your river of
delights.
For with
you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.*
In that moment, Daniela understood. She knew that
because of her great blessing, she had blessed another. She had never needed a
container. A container holds and contains things. The King’s children are never
to hold onto or store things away. They are to give them to others. The living
water of the King had poured into her and then had poured out of her in order
to bless again. She knew it would never leave her and would never run out in
her. The blessing of The King never runs out. It is a seed planted in us which always
produces a greater and higher return.
Having learned The King’s lesson and after making a
new friend, Daniela joyfully came down from the mountain. As she walked in the
newness of peace and contentment, a prayer came to her mind. This is what she
prayed:
This is my prayer in the harvest
When favor and providence flow
I know I’m filled to be emptied again
The seed I’ve received I will sow**
No matter the blessing, no matter the seed, out of
the abundance we give. Out of the increase, it flows out of us. Every good gift
comes from The King. It comes into us and out of us. It never stops. It is a
continual flow of spiritual, emotional and physical gifts. As we receive, we
give. The more we give, the more we receive.
*Psalm 36:7-9
**The Desert Song – Hillsong – from the album, This is Our God
Copyright 2009. Stories of The King. All rights reserved.
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