She named him Moses; for she said, “I drew him out of the water.” // Exodus 2:10
Bobbing in the waves for days during our annual family “beach week,” plunging into the bone- chilling water of my grandparents’ pool, splashing in our little backyard kiddie pool on a lazy summer day: whenever and wherever there was water, I was there for it! Even now, though I can’t as easily dive into the nearest lake, ocean, or pool, water still has a certain pull on my heart. There is something about being near or in water that brings me peace and rest, that revives me!
Since I started teaching about the Sacraments it has become clearer to me why the presence of water is so powerful. Like Moses, each of us has been drawn from the water in the Sacrament of Baptism and, like Moses, have been adopted into the family of a king, and not just an earthly one: the King of Kings!
Unfortunately, we, like Moses, sometimes react to life in ways that separate or damage our relationship with that kingly household. But we have no reason, like Moses, to run and hide (see Exodus 2:15). We do not have a father who is waiting to catch, trap, or punish us, but One who is waiting to welcome us back, desiring to fill us with Baptismal grace of his Divine Life.
Sometimes we run away from God and then desire to return, but it feels like an ominous and difficult task. But, sister, the reality is, all we have to do is, “Turn to the Lord . . . and [we] will live” as we pray in today’s Psalm Response.
In the midst of these warm summer days, as you plunge into the local pool, ocean, or lake, or dip your toes into a flimsy backyard kiddie pool, remember that you have been drawn from the water. You have been made a beloved daughter of a loving Father, a mighty deed done not in your midst, but in your very being. You have been drawn from the “abysmal swamp . . . the watery depths” (Psalm 69:3), the overwhelming flood of sin.
Live today in your identity as one who has no need to run, but simply cry out to the one Who in His great kindness answers you (see Psalm 69:14).
Sister Maria Fatima grew up in Rhode Island and entered the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist in 2005. She holds a MA in Theology from the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity. Sister is in her eleventh year of enlightening middle school minds and drawing hearts to Jesus while teaching religion and history. She currently resides at the motherhouse in Ann Arbor, MI, having previously taught in Texas, Florida, and Ohio. She is a contributing author to our Lent devotional All She Had.
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