Staff Reflection: Gatorade? H20!!!!!!!!!!

Water is everywhere: in rivers, lakes, ponds, creeks and oceans; in rain, snow and fog; in the very air we breathe, the food we eat; in our bodies and in every living thing. Water is essential to life, and we hardly realize it. From a chemistry standpoint, water is as simple as it gets: as this post's title outlines, water is an oxygen atom with two hydrogen atoms attached on either side. It is beautifully simple, yet essential to all we hold dear.

Let's look at this staff member's daily use of water. Going to the bathroom. Drinking. Brushing teeth. Cooking. Eating. Face and hand washing. All simple acts of water usage. Others shower more, play among water, and partake in other activities that require water. Yet how often do we recognize this simple gift? When do we appreciate the full effect water has on our lives?

I was in the garden the other day and was picking vines off the metal fence that surrounds it. Some were green and tightly wound around the metal links, while others were dead and shriveled, easily picked off with a slight brush. The former were alive and the latter dead, but a defining characteristic differentiating the two was the presence or absence of water. Same thing goes with chopping wood: wet or recently cut wood won't split as well as dried wood, because the wetness allows the wood to hold onto the strength and resilience that it had before it was cut off from life. It is in these small instances that God shows me what water can do. He allows me a vehicle for considering what my life would be with significantly less water, or unclean water. I think of those who live in places around the world, and even in our own country, who go without what we take for granted. Water is an interesting way that God can call us to live in solidarity with our less fortunate brothers and sisters. I see God in its simple beauty, in the life it literally pours out in us, and the joy it can bring - did I mention I'm a surfer?