Blog 3153 – 06.18.2024

Keeper of the Springs

A few years before I was born the then Chaplain of the Senate, Peter Marshall, also pastor of the largest Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. delivered a sermon entitled Keeper of the Springs. It was the story of a quiet old man who lived as a hermit near a small village nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains with a nearby lake fed by the rain water and melting snow trickling down the mountains in small streams, water falls, and branches.

The lake had beautiful swans who frequented it and healthy children played on its banks marveling at the graceful swans. For many years the town budget contained a small expenditure labeled Keeper of the Springs for the services of the little old man who made it is mission in life to keep the springs cleared of dead limbs and other debris that might hinder the flow of those life giving springs.

In time a young mayor and new city council were elected to serve the community that had no knowledge of the little old man’s important work. Seeing the line item in the budget for Keeper of Springs and thinking that money might better be spent, they stopped paying out the the small amount and so the man stopped keeping the springs clear. The result was that the lake stagnated, the swans left, the children got sick from drinking the polluted water, and they no longer played along the banks of the dying lake.

Everyone wondered what the root cause of all these disastrous things was till one elderly village came forward and told the mayor and city council it was all because they had fired the Keeper of the Springs. Realizing their grave error that saught out the old man and rehired him with a bonus to continue his important work.

The Keeper of the Springs sermon was delivered as a tribute to mothers on Mother’s Day, yet dads, grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends and neighbors who pay attention to the small details of life can all be a part of this important work as Keepers of the Springs.

Your friend and fellow traveler,

David White