Probably one of my favourite women in the bible would have to be the woman at the well ! I often think of her and try to imagine what her life was like before meeting Jesus and then after that incredible encounter. This lady is very dear to my heart. She is so aware of her sin and yet has the greatest desire to live uprightly. When the Lord says to her in John 4:13 - 14 "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life," she has no hesitation in asking Jesus for this living water. It seems that her soul has been thirsty for so long and she wants change and hope in her life.

Jesus speaks truth to her full of compassion. Their meeting was not coincidence, he wanted healing and restoration for this woman and for the Jews and Samaritans as well. Jesus was going to minister to her where she was at and I believe he could see the potential in her life. She was a captive to her life of pain, repeating her mistakes and the Lord was there to set her free.

This woman had the ability to discern truth and its as though she had been waiting all her life to obtain that truth. She opened her heart candidly as though she had nothing to lose. She didn't protect herself from being scorned or ridiculed, I think her life weighed heavily on her heart and her dignity was gone. Jesus probably appeared at first like just another man but as their conversation continued I believe she felt safe.

Jesus probably watched her run back to her town after their meeting. She would have been jumping and skipping like a child full of love and joy, without shame. I love that she leaves her water pot behind signifying how her life is now full of living water.

When she arrives at the city she addresses the men and openly proclaims that she met a man who knew all the sin that she was guilty of. She then points the crowd to Jesus. What a woman. The Lord knew that she would proclaim Him. She was a sinful woman now made free. The town listened to her testimony, she was significant. The Lord anointed her from that time and many believed because of her.

I think she was well known in her town because of her lifestyle. She probably had a ' reputation'. I don't see her as a fragile or shy person as she did not seem at all phased by speaking with Jesus and she openly asked him questions. Her life must have been so empty that she tried to satisfy her longing through having many husbands. Today we still see this same situation acted out in the lives of many women. These women are thirsty for living water. They are searching for their saviour needing deliverance from shame.

This precious woman is so significant that she is mentioned in Gods own word, the bible. She is like many of us who have had colourful pasts. The Lord believes in raising women up and anointing them for service. Jesus does not leave us drenched in our pasts but accepts and loves us and honours us. I believe He is looking for women who will openly proclaim, "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?"