“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst”

To say that Las Vegas is a world unto itself would be a true and understated fact. Set in the middle of the desert you find this oasis of self indulgence. Most who travel to this area do so with the full intent of misbehaving-so much so that the motto, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” is like an understood philosophy that all bets are off…. Or sometimes on!

I find myself in Las Vegas for a whole week to attend a professional nursing convention. I would not likely have chosen this destination for such a professional convention. Vascular Access nurses are not, by and large, party animals, so it seems the whole let it all hang out attitude is wasted on this group.

The craziest thing I’ve seen any of the nurses do was when I saw one nurse, sitting in a “Hover Round” type mobile chair, apparently lost control of the thing. In the middle of a lecture in the convention room, she ran it into the wall, backed it up and ran it into the wall again- this time knocking over a pedestal table before she got the machine stopped. I felt sorry for her. I laughed, but I felt sorry for her.

As I strolled through the casino at the Rio Resort and Casino last night, all around me were people seeking pleasure. Some where getting loaded up on alcohol. I saw one couple huffing something from a small vial. Others were hoping to strike it lucky at the gaming tables. Waitresses walked around in outfits that made me want to get them a blanket and call their mothers. I saw a short unattractive man holding the hand of a tall beautiful woman and strolling through the casino with purpose. I knew the only way that man was with that woman was because he was paying for her. I wanted to grab her hand and run. I wanted to poke my finger in his eye. Regretfully, I did neither.

As I watched the vacationing people in Vegas seek to fulfill the hunger they felt inside, I knew they’d wake up the next afternoon (none of them would be up earlier than that!) feeling empty again. It won’t be too long before they’ll need to be back on the prowl to fill the void again. I could sit in judgement of all of those people, but then I know that I can seek what this world provides just as easily. And just as easily, I can find that I come up empty again.

The only hope we have for continual fulfillment lies in which watering hole we frequent. When Jesus met the woman at the well, she had been seeking fulfillment in things that left her empty inside. That day Jesus offered her a new source. He offered her fulfillment in Him. He promised she would never again thirst. He is the well that never goes dry. He is all we need, and until we stop trying to find love, acceptance, contentment, and satisfaction in what this world has to offer, we can count on not finding that which we seek.

I’m a bit handicapped on the road here, But I want to post a video of “Everything” by Lifehouse. I’ve done the best I can to get it on here.