Water to Wine

Welcome to the first Muddy Water Mama blog post. Ironically, the Lord impressed this blog on my heart some time ago, but obedience and courage were slow to follow. I’ll expound more on that in a later post. Suffice to say fear can be persuasive at times.

 First, though, I thought a little explanation was in order. Muddy Water Mamma? Where did that come from? Oh, I’m so glad you asked! Do you remember the gem of a story found in John 2:1-11? Feel free to take a break and go read it for yourself. But if not, here is a little reminder for you. This was the story of Jesus’ first miracle. He turned the water into wine at a wedding. It’s easy to glide through this story, but I want to take some time to unpack it here. It is so valuable to us as women and I don’t want us to miss this! Hang with me, sweet friend. I want you to know that no matter how muddy our waters may be, Christ has the power to turn it into something beautiful, something of great value, something to testify about. Care to take a walk with me through this?

THE INVITATION

The scripture tells us that Jesus was invited to this wedding, as were his disciples at that time. Now, I can’t help but think (since we know how the story goes) what the bridegroom would have missed out on, if he hadn’t invited Jesus. Weddings were a big deal. The bridegroom spent a year preparing for this; a way to display he was capable of caring for his bride. And yet, he ran out of wine. Yikes!! This is the social faux pas of the day. This was hugely embarrassing. (Think southerners running out of sweet tea or fried chicken! Okay. It was likely worse than that.) Do you realize we aren’t ever told if the bridegroom was notified or realized he had run out of wine? Think about that for a minute… Back to our original question, what would he have missed out on if he had not invited Jesus to share in his life that day? What are we missing out on when we don’t invite Jesus to share in our day? This really isn’t the point of the entire story, but I couldn’t help but mull that over. Let’s make sure he’s invited. It’s a great place to start.

Now, Jesus is…. Well, JESUS. So, while it was his mother who made the need known to him, he really already knew, didn’t he?  He knew they were out of wine. He also knows your needs, sweet friend, even if you haven’t figured out how to verbalize them yet. Mary, his mother, most likely was a widow at this time and had come to rely on her eldest son: especially when there were problems to arise. She knew WHO he was. She knew of his compassion, but also his wisdom, resourcefulness, intelligence. He hadn’t performed any miracles up to this point, so she didn’t necessarily expect one. She didn’t know how he would address this problem, but SHE TRUSTED that he would take care of it. She knew and relied upon his character and their relationship. We can have that same trust, because he is so trustworthy. It doesn’t matter if it’s a matter of social embarrassment or a matter of life and death: He cares. He knows. You can tell him the cry of your heart and he will hear you.

They were out of wine. She didn’t make a big deal about it to everyone around her. She didn’t panic. She didn’t revel in the drama it would bring. She simply went to the ONE she knew could handle it. That’s where she started. Maybe we could learn a lesson from Mary. Perhaps we could also learn one from the servants.

HEART OF OBEDIENCE

What did Jesus do? He told the servants to fill the jars with water, so they filled them to the brim! They were obedient. Even if they couldn’t understand the reasoning of how filling up these jars helped solve the immediate problem, they obeyed. They obeyed the words of Jesus.  We don’t always; in fact, we rarely can understand or foresee how the Lord will take our water and turn it into wine. But we can be obedient. We should be obedient to the words of Jesus. They are for our good.  Touche. (Insert cringe)  I just admitted to you my slothful degree of obedience in submitting to this blog. When he tells us to fill our pots with water? Let’s trust him, friend. Let’s fill it TO THE BRIM. Let’s give it ALL to him expecting the transformation that only he can provide! An obedient heart is far more important than the materials we have to work with or offer.

These were six stone water jars that each held 20 – 30 gallons of water. Stone is hard, it’s unchanging. Tell me you’ve been there too. There’s nothing really special about them right? Tell me you’ve felt like that too. Their original purpose was for Jewish purification rituals. Now, I’m no expert on Jewish rituals, but it is my understanding that the water in these jars was used for ceremonial (not necessarily hygienic) cleansing: the ceremonial washing of hands, dishes, utensils. My guess? It may not have been Evian or Fiji quality water (Who am I kidding? I’m a two for a dollar kind of water girl). I’m guessing it may have even gotten pretty dirty, pretty stagnant. It wouldn’t have mattered if this water was sterile, wound care quality, or if it was as muddy as the giant puddle my kids splashed in this afternoon. He was not limited by the quality of the water. Really, it didn’t matter at all. So whether our water is a muddy mess or perhaps even appears pristine: it’s not wine. It’s not the best. It’s not what it could be or should be. Oh, how I love this! He can take our water, no matter how muddy it is, sweet friend, and make it oh so sweet, so precious, so valuable, so good. He can make our waters a living testimony to his power.

ABUNDANCE

Do you want to know something else really special here? Did you catch that we had six jars that each held 20-30 gallons? Those of us who tend to be more “nerdalitic” (yes, I made that up) in our tendencies couldn’t help but calculate. This means that towards the end of the ceremony, he gifted them with 120-180 gallons of PERFECT wine. He didn’t just meet the need, he met it ABUNDANTLY! He will do the same for us! Can we please just grab on to that? We need to understand and know the degree of love he has for us and how much we can trust him. I need to know this. I need to be reminded of this. He saved the best for last. His timing and his methods are ALWAYS best. None of that water was wasted, every last drop was used for His purpose. Amen? Oh, Lord, take my muddy, stagnant water that I often try to pass off as pristine.  

TRANSFORMATION

Now, I’m not a wine drinker, nor am I an expert on biblical wine. But I’ve had some pretty muddy water at times. And I’ll tell you. I’d probably be just fine if he took it and turned it into some convenience store boxed wine. That would do. I could live with that. It would sure be better, and even useful. I’d still have a pretty good testimony from that. But again, He is ready to meet our needs abundantly. His first miracle was one of transformation! It brought joy!  He’s still in the transformation business today! THAT is so comforting. No matter what a muddy mess I make, there is hope!

What was his purpose? John 2:11 tells us that He used this miracle to reveal his glory and thus his disciples believed in him. I want you to know, friend, that whatever water we have can be surrendered to him. The transformation he works in your “waters” will bring him great glory. You will walk hand in hand with him radiating a testimony that honors him, glorifies him. It may be a small jar. It may be a 30 gallon jar. Either way, he will be honored and glorified in your surrender and through his miraculous workings. May it be said of us, when we see His work in our lives, that we believed him. Just as the disciples already knew and followed him, I pray we do as well. Yet there was still progressive growth in their faith upon seeing Christ’s transforming power.

Won’t you give him your muddy water? Let’s do it together. It’s embarrassing just how muddy my waters get sometimes, if we’re totally honest. I’m just a muddy water mama with a heart that wants so badly to honor him. 

REFLECTION

1. Have I invited Jesus into my daily routines? How so? 

2. What “muddy water” am I holding onto that ache to be relinquished into the transforming hands of Jesus? Do I really believe he has the power and the desire to turn my water into a testimony, into something precious and valuable? 

3. As a believer I am a new creation in Christ. The old has gone. The new has come. I am being transformed. What are specific areas of my life that evidence the Lord’s transforming power?  

**We love mud puddles at our house! Things literally are quite muddy around here.