When Erin and I were married shortly after high school, the only thing on our minds were the plans we both desired for our future lives together. Those plans were your typical small-town, raised-on-a-farm plans of living the “simple life” that so many rural American young people dream of living. We dreamed of one day having our own piece of land just outside of our hometown, where we could eventually raise some kids, and a few cows of our own.

So, we pursued what our culture told us to, exactly how it told us to do it. I attended college, graduated with a degree, and landed an amazing job that paid well. That job allowed us to move back home and provided us the opportunity to pursue everything we wanted in life. We got that dream farm just outside of our small town that we loved so much. We acquired the cattle, raised three beautiful kids, and achieved everything we dreamed of achieving. The scene was perfect…exactly the script we had written for ourselves and more!

Jesus told the woman at the well in John 4:13-14 (NIV), “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” These verses remind me of that time in our life when Erin and I repeatedly drank from a well that never truly satisfied. Sure, it was pleasurable and fun to experience at times, but it was a well of “more this,” and “more that.” No matter how many times we returned to that well of self-gratification, we would soon find ourselves back again wanting more.

There should be a disclaimer by those selling us the “American Dream.” It should tell us the side effects and all the dissatisfaction that can come from such an “accomplishment.” It leaves most people wanting more, never really getting us to a place where we can be content. This is because true contentment, genuine satisfaction, can only come from the Lord…from His well.

As Erin and I began partaking from Christ’s well, we began taking less and less trips to a well that kept letting us down. In fact, the more we drank from His well, the more our old well began to dry up. Our well eventually resembled a mud hole…much like a place where hogs would enjoy wallowing. It was no longer a place we desired to get a refreshing drink from anymore.

Truthfully, this is what the world has to offer all of us…filthy, unsanitary, muddy water that will never satisfy. Sure, it will come packaged in some pretty bottles, look crystal clear and safe to drink. But do not be fooled…it’s not what you think. We were fooled into thinking that the pleasingly packaged American Dream could satisfy us. Thankfully, by God’s grace, and His continuous pursuit of our lives, we finally escaped from that trap. We have left that muddy life behind us, and we are desperately trying to pursue all that we feel the Father has planned for us.

That’s really our story in a nutshell. People are shocked that we are selling all we worked so hard to acquire and are moving halfway across this planet to the island country of Papua New Guinea to be full-time missionaries. They should not be shocked though…that’s exactly what Jesus said would happen if we would just decide to drink what He had to offer us. We have a “spring of water welling up” inside of us, and we must share it with whoever will partake of it and wherever the Father leads us to share it. There is nothing…absolutely nothing more satisfying than the well of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…period. We encourage you to try it…you will not regret it.