[Amy K. Rognlie] Are You Talking to Me?

This week we have a beautiful guest post from Amy K. Rognlie inspired by John 4:4-42 where Jesus encounters the Samaritan woman at the well. <3 

It was noon, the hottest part of the day, of course. And she was out of water, again. Of course. Sharaya rose wearily from her place on the dirt floor, trying not to awaken the disgusting excuse for a man who was still snoring loudly beside her. How could she possibly have ever thought she was in love with him? If she didn’t need him to help bring in some extra money, she’d leave him right now. But where would she go? She had the three little ones, and he at least tolerated them, unlike her previous husband. Or the one before that.

Why couldn’t she get it right? She let her thoughts roam back to her childhood for a few seconds, but that was equally as painful. Her mother had died young; her father was an ignorant drunk who didn’t even notice if the kids were fed or not. She had gotten out of that situation as fast as she could. She snorted. Right. And into another bad situation. Her first husband, Jep, had been so handsome. Her father hadn’t approved of Jep, but who cared? Jep was her ticket out of her hell of a life. Only…things didn’t quite work out that way. It was fun at first, but then things went downhill fast. She hadn’t known Jep had such a terrible temper—and that he got violent when he was angry. She still had scars…

Anyhow, here she was now, five men later and this one not even her legal husband. Who cared if she married him or not? She was already a scorned woman—having done things and been places no “proper” woman would do or go. Which explained why she was forced to fetch her bucket of water at noon. All the rest of the women drew water in the morning when it was cool. They laughed and chatted together. But Sharaya was no longer included in the daily ritual.

“Oh, who cares?” she said out loud.

She grabbed her bucket, instructed the little ones to stay in the hut and headed out. She could have gotten water from the well in town, perhaps, but when she was in town, she could still feel everyone’s eyes on her—if she was lucky. More often, she’d have someone chuck a rock at her or call her a few choice names. If only she could leave this place! But she had no money, no donkey, no life, no hope…

She sighed and headed for Jacob’s Well, the big well way outside of the town. She’d have to trek a mile over the scorching sandy path, but at least she would be alone and out of the city for a few minutes. She took her time, trying to imagine what it would be like if she was someone rich who had just stopped at the well only long enough to water his camels. It must be amazing to have enough money to buy whatever you wanted or to travel to new places. She sighed again as she neared the well. No camel caravans this time. Just one dusty, exhausted-looking man about her age. A Jew.

She stopped. At least she didn’t have to worry about him trying to strike up a conversation with her. Jews were forbidden to talk in public to any woman, much less a Samaritan woman. But she really must fill her bucket and hurry back to the children. She approached the well with her head down, intent on not making eye contact with the man. There was still room for her to drop her bucket in without disturbing him where he sat resting against the smooth-worn side of the stone well.

Then he spoke. “Will you give me a drink of water?”

She froze.

Was he talking to her?

Yes, He was speaking to her…just as He is speaking to each one of us today. Will you take time to listen? Will you let His words expose your deepest need and then meet it all in one fell swoop? He can, and He will…if you will but say “yes”.

Amy K. Rognlie

Amy K. Rognlie is a Christian author, speaker and teacher. She loves to write fiction that will point her readers toward a deeper understanding of God and how He works in our lives. Amy is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and writes from her home in Central Texas. She is also a middle-school language teacher. She and her husband have three grown sons and one granddaughter. Amy enjoys reading (of course), gardening, and knitting. Besides writing fiction, Amy enjoys writing magazine articles and devotional material for local and national publications. Amy has recently authored Miss Opal Makes a Match and Miss Opal Learns a Lesson, the first two stories in a series of historical novellas set in Central Texas. Her soon-to-be-released cozy mystery, To Err is Human, is the third book in the Short Creek Mysteries series published by Mountain Brook Ink.

You can visit her at amyrognlie.com.