Clean Water… do you appreciate it?
Clean water… have you ever stopped to think about how blessed we are to have clean water? I have grown up knowing that other countries are not blessed with clean water the way the US is and thought I appreciated what I have been given. But recently, I have come to realize my actions do not show my appreciation at all.
One night my friend was staying over at my house and as we were brushing our teeth something very funny happened. She quickly shut off the water that was continuously running while I leisurely brushed tooth by tooth and said, “running water hurts my ears.” We both laughed. Then we talked about how wasteful we can be with water. My friend partners with an organization called Global Benefit where they work to bring clean water to an area in Africa called Sierra Leone. She is very aware of water to the point that wasting it hurts her ears. That made me think.
Then, a few nights later she stayed again and alas, I was interrupted in my teeth brushing ceremony by her abruptly cutting off my water supply. You would think I would have learned the first time but no… a long time habit is hard to break.
Then today, I went for a walk and upon my return saw the newspaper on the ground. One of the headlines said, “Towns form group for clean water issues.” Issues, our town does not have issues with water… at least not compared to Sierra Leone. But then, everything that has happened over the last few days sunk into my heart. I have no appreciation for the clean water in my town or how it got there. In America we only know clean water. But, the reality is, someone had to clean it. We are blessed in that we have committees of people dedicated to making sure we have clean water to drink everyday. In fact, they have made it so that even our toilet water is clean. Now that is high class! But because we have never been without clean water we have no idea what a threat dirty water is to the world.
Dirty water means death, disease, malnutrition, and the spread of diseases and bacterias. A basic thing in everyone’s day, like water, can either bring life or death to a person depending on the condition in which it comes. I don’t think that has ever hit my heart the way it is hitting it today.
I don’t know what step to take from here or what all of this means but I know that I am grateful for clean water in my area. And I pray that clean water will be the norm all over the world. And I can tell you that tonight the sink will not be running while I brush my teeth. 
Tags: get involved, ministry, My Life
I’m with you on this, Mandy. Believe it or not, I have been trying for the last year or so not to run water needlessly, to use less, etc. Obviously, this doesn’t help Sierra Leone or other places which lack clean water; but at least it fosters a better attitude in me. Aren’t there some musicians, Christian and secular alike, who are working on raising funds to help provide clean wwater in variouis places in the world where it’s needed? I thought I read that Bono is one who’s doing that. Maybe that’s a way to get involved – putting up some $ when we can that actually will go to help where the clean water is needed.
Nice Mandy. Thanks for sharing this blog. We can make a difference.