I was just falling asleep when my daughter came into our room the other night. I heard her walking down the hall and started to pull myself out of that pleasant “about to fall asleep” feeling.
“Is everything ok, honey?”
“Dad, I’m thirsty.”
I keep a cup of water next to my bed because the same thing happens to me in the middle of the night.
“Can I have some of your water?”
“Sure, sweetie. Then go back to bed.”
She drank nearly all of it and padded softly back to her room. She isn’t thinking about whether or not she’s waking anybody up. She doesn’t care that she’s a hot mess with hair everywhere, one sock on and princess pajamas twisted around her body. Her concern is not where it came from, who poured it, how long it’s been there or even what was in the cup. We’ve done this enough that she knows about my cup of water. She’s just thirsty.
You know the feeling. Coming home from the gym or a basketball game or yoga or a spin class and you pound that bottle of Gatorade or a tall glass of water. Then you pound another one.
You finish a long, hot afternoon of yard-work and fill that reused fast food cup with lemonade or iced tea and the entire pitcher just isn’t going to be enough.
You cleaned your garage and now you’re thirsty. You’re in the middle of “spring cleaning” your house and the dust has dried your throat. You’ve just delivered a long presentation, or a sermon, or a lecture and you are parched. Or there’s that “just-woke-up” tickle in your throat.
Or sometimes, we’re just thirsty because we’re thirsty.
Sometimes all it takes is a sip to satisfy. Sometimes you take full advantage of free refills and the server has to tell you “I’m sorry, sir, the fountain is broken. How about water?”
We’ve run out of our natural resources and it’s time for more. We’ve exhausted our supply of extra fluid and our body craves replacement. We’ve consumed too much salt and we need to restore balance. Or we’ve put something else in that drains us more than it helps us. Whatever the reason, we get thirsty.
When it’s about the body, it makes so much sense. Not one of us is immune to thirst. We may not care much about the chemical and neurological science behind it, but we get it. Even my daughter gets it. When she’s thirsty, it’s time to take a drink.
She’s not afraid of being thirsty. She’s not worried that it’s not the right time or if others are more or less thirsty than she is. When she’s thirsty, she goes and gets a drink.
She knows where to quench that thirst. There’s always a cup of water right there. No matter how she looks and especially no matter how I think she looks. It’s right there, on the nightstand, any time she needs it.
When you’re thirsty, do you concern yourself with who may be watching? With who may be taking notes of how much you gulp or how little you sip?
Stop. It’s ok. Your soul has exhausted its’ natural resources and it’s time for more. There is no judgment that matters at all in being thirsty. Mr. Hot Mess gets thirsty. Miss Got-it-all-together gets thirsty.
So be thirsty. Know when you’re thirsty. Then go and get yourself a drink. A drink as big as you need.
You know where it is.
1 Comment
Another very good one Chris! Thanks!!!