Storm Drains
Last week, I had the honor of interceding for leaders on college campuses who want to love students with Jesus’ fullness. Their main message was based on John 4, with the Samaritan woman at the well and how “Jesus embraces, not erases our stories” by offering us Living Water. Amen! Right before a prayer meeting, the Lord showed me a picture of storm drains. I asked the group what they know of these: these are open drains on streets and sidewalks so, when storms come, the areas in the neighborhood avoid flooding. It’s one way to balance our environment to keep it a healthy ecosystem. The question then became, Are there any blocked storm drains in our lives that lead us to feel overwhelmed or stuck?
We did an exercise to take a quick ‘inventory’ of where God was trying to get our attention in our bodies and clear out some ‘storm drains.’ Try this out, friends!
1. Close your eyes and quiet yourself with a few deep breaths. Since we have full access to the Helper, ask this of Holy Spirit: What is one body part or area of my body that is blocked from the flow of Living Water? “Listen” to your body and identify one body part that is somehow making itself prominent right now: it could be tingling, stiff, aching, hot, cold, etc. Once you locate that body part, place your hand on it. Be open to what God may be revealing! Some examples: eyes, shoulder, stomach, ankle, etc.
2. You may even take this one step further. Ask Holy Spirit: What is a memory involving this body part? It may be from childhood, adolescence, or more recent/current. Journaling/recording this may help. You can describe the memory as a movie scene. Use sensory details to return to the scene (sight, sounds, smells, what you touched and felt, etc).
3. Ask The Helper next: What are you trying to tell or show me through this body part or memory? Again, be open to whatever God may be revealing! (If you enjoy creative writing, you may even write from the point of view of this body part.) For example, one student was holding his cheeks because they were tingling. His childhood memory was when he cleaned the house ‘extra squeaky’ because he wanted his mom to praise him. He kept smiling as he waited for her approval because he would know she valued him. The Holy Spirit revealed his unhealthy attachment to his mother’s opinion of him since his dad was always absent. Now, this young man sees how he draws his self worth from what his mom and other women think of him.
4. Thank God for the revelation! Ask next: Is there a lie I’m believing about myself, others, or You in this? If so, what is it, and what would you like us to do about it? This young man knew what the lie was and knew he wanted to repent of it. He had been praying through this for a while now, but he heard God tell him to take a next step and seek Christian counseling to straighten out this unhealthy codependence on women, namely his girlfriend.
5. The next to last step is to ask and declare: Holy Spirit, what truth are you revealing to me about this? Make sure you claim it!
6. Finally, ASK and accept a deeper refreshing in that area of your life! Call out healing in any body part that is tense, inflamed, sore, or in distress! Thank God for new life, for the coursing flow of living water to turn over each cell in our bodies. Receive a more JOY in that body part!
After this group did this activity, headaches, migraines, stomach knots, shoulder pain, even lock jaw were loosed and relieved. People were crying, laughing, moving around freely, and they continued praying for others who were still ‘clogged’ and needing refreshment! Jesus demonstrated to us that he actively cares about our stories and works to honor and redeem them. He embraces, not erases!
May we experience more of your JOY flowing into every area of our being, Lord!
~Ella deCastro Baron