Anyway, on Friday, Hope and I made lunch to take to Hunter up at the skate park where he works. I was shocked to find his water bottle unused after four weeks at Falls Creek. Shocked and more than a little frustrated.
What has he been drinking? Milk (that's okay), the occasional Gatorade (again, okay), ginger-ale, Icees (which I may not bring him anymore now that I know what I know), Coke (this is where it gets bad), and black coffee (Grrrr!).
This after being really sick a couple of weeks ago! Chills, low fever, nausea, stomach cramps. I thought he had the stomach bug that a couple of the other staffers had come down with. Turns out he was dehydrated, so I made him drink 120 ounces of water a day for a few days until he felt better.
Hunter hates water. He claims it doesn't taste good. I wasn't aware that water had a taste. Maybe it's the absence of taste that he objects to. He also says that it hurts his stomach, but I think maybe that's just what detox feels like. Once you get past that initial phase of reintroducing water into your system and getting hydrated, you start to feel awesome. I ought to know!I don't drink sodas anymore. I have one cup of coffee in the morning, and that's it. The rest is water. I drink at least 96 ounces a day. I know this because I have a water bottle with the ounces marked. It's been this way for about a year and a half, and I feel great, healthier. I have lost a lot of weight, and I have more energy than I have in a very long time. It's funny how giving your body what it needs sets everything right, isn't it?
Notice that I didn't say "giving your body what it craves." Cravings are funny things. You tend to crave what you are used to, whether or not it is good for you. As a matter of fact, I read a weight loss article that said you should end every meal with a bite of something healthy because your body will crave whatever it ate last. The problem is that many of us end meals with some kind of dessert, even if it is just a Hershey's kiss or something.
I think the same thing goes spiritually. We tell people that they have a built in desire for God. That's not necessarily true. They do have a void that only God can fill, but they won't crave Him if they've never tasted and seen that He is good (Psalm 34:8). They will crave worldly pleasures instead, things they are familiar with, things that thrill and fill for a moment, but ultimately leave them more empty than before.
If we aren't careful, we Christians can become spiritually dehydrated, too, although letting that happen when we know how to avoid it is kind of ridiculous, like Hunter refusing to drink water after being so sick and being told by his mother ten times a day to drink water. Believers who have grown lazy and fallen out of the habit of spending time with God, praying, reading their Bible, and fellowshipping with other believers will sometimes try to satisfy their aching heart with worldly substitutes that may taste good at first, may satisfy for a while, but will ultimately make them more miserable. Christian or not, the only cure for spiritual dehydration is Jesus. He is the Living Water, and only He can satisfy your deepest need. You may not crave Him now, but once you let Him clean your heart out, you'll experience for yourself the difference He makes.
I accepted Jesus into my heart when I was a little girl, but there have been times of spiritual dehydration in my life since then. I can tell you from experience that getting back on track after filling your life with junk isn't pleasant at first. It's never comfortable to confront and confess sin. I'm guessing that spiritual detox is pretty similar to physical detox in that way. However, it's always, ALWAYS worth it.
So, here's hoping that you will use your water bottle more often than Hunter does this summer and that you will let Jesus quench your spiritual thirst.
Bottoms up! (Unless, of course, you've been sitting in one place too long! Tee hee)
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