That garden of ours is a lot of work. In Florida that means it is also a lot of sweat. When Keith comes in from a summertime Saturday of hoeing, weeding, mulching, spraying, mowing, and picking, he must leave his work clothes hanging on the porch because the hems are literally dripping.
Losing that much fluid can be dangerous. Dehydration can cause nausea, vomiting, muscle cramps, lightheadedness, and heart palpitations as the body tries to pump the same amount of blood with less liquid to accomplish the task. If the body is not re-hydrated, confusion will follow, and eventually coma, organ failure, and death.
It is important to keep your body hydrated as you go along and not wait until you are thirsty. Keith always carries a gallon jug of water out with him to set in the shade of the carport while he works. Every time he has a break in the activity—a finished row, an accomplished chore, an errand that takes him past the carport—he stops to take a drink even if he doesn’t think he needs it. If you wait until you are thirsty, dehydration has already set in.
I like to think of our Sunday assemblies as our chance to re-hydrate. Nothing can sap your energy and drain your spiritual reservoirs like a week out in the world. Without replenishing ourselves on a regular basis, we can suffer spiritual dehydration. Trials become harder to bear and temptations more difficult to overcome. The carnal, selfish attitudes that surround us can drain our faith. Suddenly we hit a critical point, a time when our souls wrest in a spiritual cramp, and if we do not top up the tanks, a spiritual heat stroke in on the horizon. If we wait too long, coma—an indifference to our situation—and spiritual death will soon follow.
When the assembly of the saints works as it was intended, it reminds us that we are not alone, encourages us with the hope of the gospel, strengthens the muscles that have grown weak with exhaustion, and replenishes the faith, “provoking one another to love and good works.” That meeting that we so often do nothing but complain about is as essential to our spiritual health as water is to our bodies.
But you can’t just sit there looking at the water bottle and expect to gather strength from it. You can’t expect someone to hold it for you. Your mama quit doing that a long time ago. Re-hydration takes at least enough effort to pick up the bottle, lift it to your lips, and swallow.
You don’t need it every week, you say? Yes, you do. If you wait till you’re thirsty, damage has already been done to your soul. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll take a sip every chance you get.
Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:13-14
Dene Ward
Losing that much fluid can be dangerous. Dehydration can cause nausea, vomiting, muscle cramps, lightheadedness, and heart palpitations as the body tries to pump the same amount of blood with less liquid to accomplish the task. If the body is not re-hydrated, confusion will follow, and eventually coma, organ failure, and death.
It is important to keep your body hydrated as you go along and not wait until you are thirsty. Keith always carries a gallon jug of water out with him to set in the shade of the carport while he works. Every time he has a break in the activity—a finished row, an accomplished chore, an errand that takes him past the carport—he stops to take a drink even if he doesn’t think he needs it. If you wait until you are thirsty, dehydration has already set in.
I like to think of our Sunday assemblies as our chance to re-hydrate. Nothing can sap your energy and drain your spiritual reservoirs like a week out in the world. Without replenishing ourselves on a regular basis, we can suffer spiritual dehydration. Trials become harder to bear and temptations more difficult to overcome. The carnal, selfish attitudes that surround us can drain our faith. Suddenly we hit a critical point, a time when our souls wrest in a spiritual cramp, and if we do not top up the tanks, a spiritual heat stroke in on the horizon. If we wait too long, coma—an indifference to our situation—and spiritual death will soon follow.
When the assembly of the saints works as it was intended, it reminds us that we are not alone, encourages us with the hope of the gospel, strengthens the muscles that have grown weak with exhaustion, and replenishes the faith, “provoking one another to love and good works.” That meeting that we so often do nothing but complain about is as essential to our spiritual health as water is to our bodies.
But you can’t just sit there looking at the water bottle and expect to gather strength from it. You can’t expect someone to hold it for you. Your mama quit doing that a long time ago. Re-hydration takes at least enough effort to pick up the bottle, lift it to your lips, and swallow.
You don’t need it every week, you say? Yes, you do. If you wait till you’re thirsty, damage has already been done to your soul. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll take a sip every chance you get.
Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:13-14
Dene Ward
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