Becoming Mo

I recently read a devotional that reminded me that the details in the Bible matter.

One detail I had overlooked for years suddenly stood out: the woman at the well came for water at noon.

I had read that story many times without paying attention to the time of day. But when it was explained, it made perfect sense. Where I come from, chores like fetching water are done early in the morning, before the heat of the day. You wake up, sweep, fetch water, and get things moving.

You certainly don’t go to the well at noon unless you have a reason.

The woman in that story had a reputation. She likely chose the hottest, most inconvenient time of day because it was also the quietest. Fewer people. Fewer side glances. Fewer hushed conversations. Less judgment.

She arranged her life around avoiding people.

Around their looks, their whispers, their assumptions.

And that is no way to live.

People will always be people. They will use their God-given eyes and mouths in whatever way suits them. Some will ask questions with an open mind, but many will judge without asking anything at all.

That part of life is unavoidable.

What we can control is how much space we allow those voices to occupy.

Over the years, I’ve heard surprising things about myself – stories I didn’t recognize and versions of me I had never met. At first, I reacted. I explained. I tried to correct the narrative.

Eventually, I learned to let some things go.

After all, even Jesus – perfect in every way – was misunderstood and criticized. If that was true for Him, it shouldn’t be shocking when it happens to us.

Words can hurt. But rearranging your life to avoid people, their opinions, or their whispers does not heal those wounds. It only deepens them.

Healing comes from living anyway.

From showing up.

From refusing to shrink yourself to fit someone else’s comfort.

From handing the hurt to God and choosing peace over hiding.

People will talk.

They always have.

But your life was never meant to be lived around their voices.

So don’t spend your life drawing water at noon just to avoid them.