Monday, March 27, 2017

Oh so thirsty

I was thirsty. Oh so desperately thirsty. When was the last time my body had experienced the fresh, thirst quenching renewal of pure water? I couldn't remember. It had been too long. My lips, as dry as a flower in the hot summer sun, were proof.
Inside I was languishing. The systems of my body were begging for renewal. My organs crying out for water and hydration. Every fiber of my being was fading fast. I was in critical need of water and I knew I couldn't go on much longer without it.
So I frantically began to search for the liquid gold my body so desperately needed. I saw a grocery store off in the distance and was sure they would have a plethora of bottles of fresh water to quench my thirst. I ran to the entrance and pulled on the handle of the big glass doors but the door didn't budge. Locked. Closed.
I looked around and saw another building off in the distance. A gas station. Certainly they would be open so I moved as quickly as my weak body could take me to the promising future of the station's convenience store only to find that the inside was dark and empty. The gas station pumps covered with plastic and "Out of Service" signs. They had no gas and they had no water. My hunt would have to continue if I wanted to find relief.
With more urgency than ever before I started to get creative. I saw some cars parked in a nearby lot and thought maybe a kind stranger would have a bottle of water in their trunk. But there wasn't a single car owner in sight. So I moved on to the downtown city park in hopes that its fountain would provide relief only to discover that I was once again out of luck. The foundation was turned off and the park was deserted.
It was getting dark, late and cold and my body was giving out. My lips were so dried up and cracked they were bleeding. My mouth was so course I couldn't even cough. I couldn't keep running. My body wouldn't allow it and my heart couldn't handle it. Without a glimmer of hope or a drop of water in sight, I gave up. In the middle of the park I collapsed on the ground, too exhausted to go on.
The hunt was over. My body defeated.
I'll never know how long I laid on that cold pavement in the dark of night. I must have fallen into a dehydrated trance or a thirst-induced sleep because the next thing I remember was something moist touching the skin on the back of my exposed neck. I blinked my eyes a few times. Was it a dream? What was this wet dew? I lifted my weak arm, touched my neck and nearly jumped out of my skin.
Water.
A drop of water on my neck. Adrenaline went pumping through my veins as I rose to the tops of my my knees. And then, one by one, the water started falling. Just a drizzle at first, falling from above and then a down pour. The water fell in buckets. Buckets upon buckets of fresh, cool, rejuvenating water fell from the sky.
I rose to my feet and threw back my head. I didn't even pause to look for a cup and I didn't bother holding out my hands. I just opened my mouth, stuck out my tongue and drank in the cascading rain. My throat rejoiced. My lips sang praises! So overcome with joy and relief was I that I started dancing. Yes, dancing, right there in the city square.
My body came alive with an energy and vigor I had never experienced before. I was alive!
I had given up, believing I was going to die but I didn't. I thought I was out of hope but I wasn't. I was convinced that my search had been entirely futile and was going to end in tragedy. But it didn't.
I lived.
Face down on the cold hard ground I received renewal and rejuvenation. From the pit of certain death I was covered with fresh springs of new life. I was showered with an abundance of gracious, merciful, life-giving water.
At my most critical time of need God stepped in and saved me with His soul-quenching water, ensuring that I am eternally hydrated and forever freed from thirst.

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