Taal

Genesis 21:19 -- "Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water."  

As far as the eye could see -- all I could see -- was sharp, black, jagged volcanic rock. We were climbing the crater. Only a few of us decided to make this trek deeper into the center of Mt. Taal [pronounced: Tuh-All], the rest of the class had remained behind to float in the lake. It was much cooler there.

Taal, Philippines is one of the wonders of the world. It's a crater-turned-lake blown out by a huge volcanic eruption. Inside the crater is an island that hosts a crater-turned-lake that was blown out by a huge volcanic eruption. Inside THAT crater is an island with a crater that has a lake.....it's amazing. It's beautiful. It's brutal on the feet and HOT! But oh, so worth the difficult climb.

I was thirsty. We were nearing the inner crater full of hot, steamy blue water that we couldn't drink. First, it was too hot - and second, it was full of sulfur and acid. And my canteen was completely empty. My mouth felt like cotton and my throat started to stick to itself. Somehow, all of that was forgotten when I looked around and saw where I was.

It felt like a different planet. Black rock everywhere only punctuated by the ocassional patch of sand and bubbling volcanic vent shooting even more heat up into the air around us.

Because I have very brown hair, the top of my head absorbed heat from the sun that had beat down on it for hours and I really just wanted to sit down in the shade. ...but there wasn't any shade. And we couldn't sit down because of the sharp terrain. So - there we stood - awe struck in a very foreign land. I was happy when the announcement was made that we were headed back to base camp.  Even the warm waters of the lake there would be cooler than this and I could already FEEL the relief of it on my skin. But - you had to stay on top of the lake. If you sunk your toes - even a little - into the sands below you were met with heat emanating from the crater beneath us. If we wanted to cool down, we stayed floating on the top.

When I read this verse in Genesis this morning, I thought of Taal. Because here, Hagar was exiled into the desert with her son to care for while trying to survive the incredible heat. Her canteen was empty and she was utterly alone [or so she thought]. When she remembered God and sent a fervent prayer toward heaven, she saw a well of water when she opened here eyes. Until that point, she'd been - let's face it - feeling sorry for herself. [not that she didn't have a good reason, but pity-parties are seldom productive]. She was overwhelmed in a very foreign place. She forgot - as WE do - God was there with her the whole time. He never left her. If she hadn't stopped and put her focus back on the Lord, she may have missed the well. Where would she be then?

I'm not judging Hagar by any means. She mirrors myself in so many ways during these few verses. I can remember, sitting on the shores of that crater on Taal looking up at the stars that had popped out so brilliantly - needing to get out of my sleeping bag and make my way to the little tent with the hole in the ground but kind of afraid to do so because inside was the biggest wolf spider I had ever seen in my life. I remember seeing - actually SEEING - satellites float above us in space and staring at the Southern Cross. I felt alone - even though I wasn't. I panicked, there in the dark - until I remembered I could ask a counselor for help. It was that simple. Ask for help, get a flashlight and an escort to the toilet tent. If I asked nicely maybe my escort would shoo out the spider.

I can't begin to imagine what Hagar felt and certainly my Taal experience pales in comparison. She must have been scared, hurt, angry - wanting to fold in on herself and wilt but not being able to because she had a little boy to care for - and then, maybe feeling like a failure when she couldn't see past giving up. ...and the whole time, she was closer than she even realized to her salvation. In more ways than one. God was with her the whole time - and within ear shot - was a well that she couldn't see because of her blind panic.

How do we reach the well? Because there is ALWAYS a well. How do we get passed ourselves and our fear, our anger, our anxiety to find it and drink deep? We stop. It's that simple. Just stop. Focus on our salvation, on our Lord and remember Him FIRST. He WILL provide.