Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Water brings . . .

When friends came back from a sabbatical trip to Tanzania, they pledged that once a week they would wash themselves with a bucket of water rather than taking a shower; the practice was intended to remind them of how precious water was in the village where they stayed and thus also to remind them of the people with whom they lived and worked.

Surely it is the case that here in the upper-midwest we seldom notice how precious and necessary water is because we are never far from a lake or a river and our faucets bring hot and cold running water almost without fail.  Once in a great while something in the well-pump system at our house fails.  Usually this happens when I am the shower and covered with soap.  It is not a happy situation; rather one that gets my day off to a bad start.

In contrast, this morning filling my teakettle from a shiny, new, kitchen faucet started the day well.  Using it put a smile on my face.  The pleasure of the tool reminded me to be grateful for the simple, but necessary resource--water, for the privilege of easy access to that water, and for my husband who installed the faucet that gave me access so easily.

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