GUEST BLOGGER! Farm Fresh Wisdom with Cheryl~When you Sink in Miry Clay

Peggy: Y'all know where I'm going with this. Done got my fiddle out to play a few rounds of There's a Hole in the Bucket Ole' Liza, Ole' Liza. Only my farm neighbor, Cheryl, had a much better rendition. And she's at the bottom of one humdinger of a hole. Sit down on that there bucket, aim at the spittoon in the corner while keepin' yer boots downwind, and take a listen. 

 Cheryl: Living in a remote area adjacent to a coal mine can be very challenging.  We do not have city water. We get our water from the roof top of the garage behind our home.  The water goes into the gutters and is transported into our cistern, coal mine dust, dirt, and all. A cistern is a large cavity which is dug into the ground about twelve to fourteen feet deep.  Usually the bottom is made of clay or sandstone that is a natural layer in the earth.  From this sandstone the walls are shaped with bricks and mortar up and up to the top until the cistern is in the shape of a vessel; narrow at the top and spreading out at the bottom. The shape is much like an upside down wine glass.  The top of the cistern has a square of concrete about five feet square with a smaller concrete lid that measures two foot square.  The base of this cistern is about ten to twelve foot in diameter. We do not drink or cook with the cistern water.  We use this water for all baths, laundry, and cleaning. We buy our drinking water.

     About two weeks prior to Easter, I began to notice a strange smell in our water, especially the hot water. I was hosting Easter for my whole family. So my husband, Darrel, suggested I put bleach in it.  This remedy worked until the next rain and so on. Rain/bleach/rain/bleach. I was almost to my breaking point when the smell developed into a complete stench! I could not stand it. So my husband and I resolved to pump the cistern dry to find the problem.  Sure enough, we found it!  We were getting so much rain that the ground surface water was also going into our cistern. The heating process made the algae and bacteria bloom and—wow, stink, stink!

     Once the water was mostly out, one of us had to get in and fill the bucket while the other lugged the rope and bucket full of mud up and out.  In I went.  Down into the mud-filled, smelly cave of a pit.  One shovel at a time I stooped this black slime out.  But as I worked, I remembered God’s word.

Psalm 40:2. (NIV)

           “He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock            and gave me a firm place to stand.”

     Without my ladder I was hopelessly trapped in a pit that I had knowingly entered. Isn't it just like Jesus to remind me of how many times I willingly jumped into a pit that only He could get me out of? I began to realize how many time Jesus had done this for me—the exact thing I was doing in the cistern. Bit by Bit, scoop by scoop, layer of dirt and filth by layer, He carefully and deliberately lifted me out of the pit. He cleaned me from the inside out. The stench of my carnal nature fell off. The slime and mud I had created began to be replaced with the fruit of His Spirit which bloomed in me.

     

     Galatians 5:22 tells us about His fruits. These are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.  He took my filthy vessel, cleaned it out and replaced it with clean things that please Him and grow His kingdom!

      After the whole afternoon of cleaning, scrubbing, rinsing, and pumping, our cistern was, at last, clean.  We ordered water from a local water hauler, and inch by inch our source of life-giving water was restored to a state of cleanliness.  We have since installed a gutter diverter device on our flow system to better control what type and how much water is allowed in our cistern.

     I would encourage you also to put a trash diverter device on your life to protect your soul.  If you are constantly exposing yourself to situations that will cause toxicity and filth in your life, have God’s Word as your armor.  Be ready, because if you fall into a huge pit, it is very hard to get out.  Call upon Jesus.  He will help you!

Peggy:  If'n ya got a shortage of sludge, give Cheryl a call. She's got plenty. On second thought, scratch that. Nobody needs that kind of filth, especially in you soul! If ya ain't done did it yet, and Jesus Christ to forgive you of your sins and be your Savior!

Can't resist adding a little newfangled music that blends Psalms 40 right in. One of my fav's.

 40 by Ginny Owens.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_pQ7H7Xia4

Let us know about the miry clay and how Jesus Christ cleansed it away!