A Few Thoughts on Water

We never know the worth of water till the well is dry. ~Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732




1 of every 6 people in the world lacks access to safe drinking water.

Twice as many lack access to improved sanitation.

80 countries, home to 40% of the world’s population, are encountering serious water shortages.

In the 1990s the number of children killed by diarrhea -- the result of unsafe water and sanitation -- exceeded the number of people killed in armed conflicts since the Second World War.

One toilet flush in the U.S. uses as much water as the average person in a developing country uses for a whole day’s drinking, cooking, washing, and cleaning.

We didn't have water for five days. It wasn't a big deal...until days 4 and 5. We were all getting a bit "ripe" and didn't enjoy hauling water to and from someone else's tap. (Spoiled girls, we are!)

On Friday night we arrived back from our monthly trip to Abuja (Lauren and Naomi got more braces on their teeth) to find that we still didn't have water...or electricity. We hadn't had electricity for more that a few minutes (literally) a day for the last 10 days. I was due at an ice cream social at school in 20 minutes and was very tired-not to mention smelly and hungry. Added a bit more perfume and a splash of powder to my body and headed out with my girls (and a few others) who were so excited about the social. During those hours at the ice cream (dinner, for my kids!) party, I remembered how fun it is to be a kid. Naomi skated until she had huge blisters on her legs. The girls were laughing so hard. No cares in the world.

After the party, we headed home to a very dark (dry) house. With the help of a flashlight, I cleaned out the (warm) fridge because all the food had gone bad. I was tired, hot, stinky, and discouraged. Jon had just left in the morning for a 10 day trip to Niger. (How could I complain when he was in 120 degree heat?) I slept fitfully, waking often to pray during the night.

Saturday, blessings abounded! We got some water in-and about 30 minutes of electricity...at the same time! This gave me time to pump water. We were SO excited to have water in the house. No complaints about the cold showers...we were just happy we were wet!

Spent all day Saturday outside in the sun....we are quite toasty and smothered with aloe vera, but had such a relaxing day. Good thing about not having electricity...an excuse to not iron all day!

This lack of water got me to thinking....Jesus is the Living Water......cleansing, refreshing, essential to life! I have always taken water for granted. Never wondered if it would come out of the tap or not. Never really conserved beyond turning off the water while brushing my teeth. Now, water is precious. Every day we pump it. Every day we filter it. Every day we save it. May my focus on the Living Water be even more consuming...for He gives me life. May I never go a day without Him.

Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”