On the college compound where I grew up there were several wells that supplied water to the families and students. Most of the wells were discretely placed and camouflaged, as if it was a garden display or mix media sculpture that held a place but never the hearts of those who noticed. The exception was the large, open well in front of the girl’s dorm. Even then I openly wondered about the purification of the green algae tinted water that often acted as a mirror to those who reflected on its face.
I haven’t thought about the well, the reflections it shared, or my wonderings in decades until a read a news note. It seems that the girls in the dorm have been complaining about the quality and safety of the water from the well. Their evidence is the number of people frequently sick and the number of people who carry the evidence around with them in the form of different types of skin rashes. An attempt was made to clear the well however the reporter noted that although the visible symptoms of the problem have been removed the problem remains.
Situations like this are never limited to just water. “A good person who gives in to a bad person is a muddied spring, a polluted well.” (Proverbs 25.26) We may try to convince ourselves that compromising here, walking around there, or just letting things go is ok – it really isn’t our business anyways – but the fact that we have accepted another’s stance changes what we are from the inside out.
In the news report I kept looking for the next steps, there was none to be found. No mention of purifying the well by any means or taking the steps to add a purification system. The article just ended with the past facts. The future was and is unknown.
I refuse to leave my life that way! Paraphrasing Paul, I am going to fix my attention on God knowing I’ll be changed from the inside out. It is the only way to become pure again.
