Thursday, January 22, 2009

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for WATER. I love water. It is the essence of life, the only thing that we absolutely cannot live without. One reason I like living in Illinois is the amount of precipitation that it gets every year (I have a fear of being thirsty! But I will save my irrational fears for another post). God sends the water and my garden grows. We have food, we have flowers -- It is amazing.

Another wondrous thing about water is how it softens things. Last night as I was setting the table for dinner I realized that I had never wiped the table after breakfast. Someone's oatmeal was cemented to the surface. I scrubbed and picked at it, but finally just drizzled a few drops of water, let it sit, and voila! The oatmeal wiped right off. My husband loves to use this principle with big, giant pots as well. They need to soak.

Like most powerful things, water can also be scary. The summer deluges can be quite alarming and I think, "Enough, that is enough! The ground is so sodden it cannot possibly absorb anymore!" As the roof starts leaking and the basement starts seeping I wait for our house to simply float away. There is also the sea. I love the ocean. The kids leap in the waves with delight. The breeze skims across the surface, picking up moisture as it goes to cool us with its spray. I love to go for a swim and float up and down and when I boogie board I always question my life choices. Why aren't I a surfer? So I wait for the perfect wave and feel like I am flying! But the next whoosh of water is too strong and I am being pushed down, scraping the ocean floor, tumbling like a rag doll, and when I finally come up for air I think, "That would be a really dumb way to die." So water does frighten me.

Water also cleans. My baby smells so fresh after his bath this morning, the bathroom counters are gleaming from a wipe with water and a cloth, and we love to pull the car out of the garage when it is raining really hard since we're lazy.

God uses water for all different things. As babies we develop in it, our bodies are made up of it, and He uses it in His ordinances. In baptism it is a symbol of life, cleansing, and purity. In the sacrament it is used as a symbol of Christ and renewal.

Let's hear it for water -- yea!

6 comments:

Ellen said...

Great post! It's great to be thankful. I should start thankful Thursdays. Water also flows the path of least resistance. We are super thankful for water here in the desert. We live in an awesome desert because there are lots of rivers tumbling down from the mountains above. Sometimes when it rains here, it is such a huge relief, for the plants as well as the people and animals.

Anonymous said...

Sorry I have been such a lurker! I am starting to try and come out. I just don't like to whine. But I HAD to post about your thankful post. I am still working on my 365 blessings list and can't wait to post it. I am going to put it somewhere where I can refer to it often too. There are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO many things that we are blessed with! Things may be really difficult in my world still but I still am VERY blessed! Amen for water!!! I love the ways you found to be thankful for it! Beautiful!

Mary said...

Thank you. I can't wait to see your list!

amylouwhosews said...

Hip hip hooray for water!

I'd had thought about a lot of those things individually but never together in one place. You are a great writer!

I'm more scared of the little critters in the ocean. But I know what you mean about questioning why you aren't a surfer.

Stacey said...

Mary, you are so deep! Anyways, I have never had a fear about being thirsty until now-I will just add it to my list after drowning, driving in a flash flood and fires. I am a big water drinker so you think this would have dawned on me. Water is definately something I take for granted.

Mary said...

I am so glad that I could help you along with your phobias. Let me know if there is anything else I can do for you!

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