Finding water in the desert.

Australia has an amphibian called the Holy Cross Toad. It got its name from the cross like making on its back. If a drought is impending, this toad will puff up with as much water as it can, and bury itself in the mud. It will leave a small hole for air, and stay there till the next rain. Aboriginals when they need water know where to find it. The tell-tale air holes indicate that a Holy Cross is below. They dig up the poor creature, hold it up and squeeze all water out. It is no longer a Holy Cross toad just a cross toad because someone squeezed out its life support water.

The Pigmy’s of the Kalahari Desert also have an ingenious way of locating water. They ask the monkeys! Of course, they can’t talk monkey talk, but they have a clever way of getting the monkeys to led them to the water. The Pigmy hunter will find a tree with a monkey or two in it. He will then proceed to bore a hole about the size of a Monkey paw in the tree. Monkeys being naturally curious will watch the proceedings from the tree. The thirsty hunter will then place some delicious nuts that the monkey likes into the hole. When the hunter retires to a vantage point to watch, the monkey will climb down from his tree and put his hand in the hole to get a hand full of nuts. The hunter will quickly reappear to catch the monkey. The poor monkey is too greedy to let go of the nuts and now his hand has become too big to get back out of the hole. He is now a prisoner!

The Pigmy then ties the monkey to the tree and feeds it salt all night. In the morning the poor monkey is so thirsty, all he can think about is getting to the hidden water source. The Pigmy lets him go and follows closely as the poor monkey scampers away to the water, usually hidden beneath a rocky outcrop or some such place. Now both the Monkey and the Hunter enjoy the cool fresh water.

The Bible talks about the water of life. It is a special water that satisfies our need for eternal life. God offers it to us free, (Revelation 22:17.) Jesus once encountered a woman at a well and told her that he could give her this water which would cure her thirst for spiritual things. (John Chapter 4). We need physical water for life, and we also need this miracle spiritual water for eternal life. Thankfully it is a gift, and it comes to us freely when we accept Jesus into our lives.