My One Word for 2014: Blessing
Drink more water! Only in North America would we need to be told to drink more water. In other parts of the world people don’t need to be told to drink more water simply because they don’t have easy access to drinking water.
Sometimes it’s still a struggle for me to consume the recommended daily amount of water. It’s even worse when I exercise. Frankly I don’t want to lug water with me and second, I hate slowing down to drink it. All I want to do is finish my kilometer’s. I have first world problems and it’s ridiculous. Am I seriously complaining about having to drink clean water that is free and readily available to me at any time? Today I began to wonder what would happen if I no longer had access to water?
I remember when our side of the block did not have access to water for two days. The city provided a water truck for us so we could have access to drinking water 24-7. Each time I had to go outside and fill containers with water I felt seriously inconvenienced. The water truck was only two houses away from me. It’s not like I had to walk miles to a well, gather the water, then carry it back to my village and STILL have to boil it before drinking it. I’m such a water whiner I won’t drink water from an outdoor fountain, or even the fountain in a building. I just won’t. Instead, I will head over to the nearest McDonald’s and get some Dasani for $1.00 (yeah for dollar days) or buy the cheapest water I can find.
I’ve decided right now that I will make it my goal to develop a conscious habit of drinking water with gratefulness and appreciation. Each time I hit the trails to train I want to be thankful for these specific things:
-The trails and forestry that have beautified my otherwise very bland looking city
-The free and clean water that is effortlessly available to me (and every other Canadian)
-My health, for being able to walk a few miles with only minimal pain. I still can’t run, but walking is better than being in a wheelchair or confined to a bed.
My prayers are usually, Stage 1: “God, get me through this, I **%#$ hate exercising.”, Stage 2: “God, I *&$% hate this.” and Stage 3: “Thank God this is over, I am so tired, I just want to get home now.” Realising what I have been afforded in life, I want to seriously bless God each time I head out on the trails. Asking God to be with me on the path to health and wellness is so much more than asking Him to get me through activities that I don’t like. It’s more than asking God to make the tofu stir-fry taste like fried chicken.
Inviting God into our pursuits towards health and well-being needs to involve a mixture of “help me” and “thank you”. Help is not always going to be about your physical needs and thanks is not only for the personal things He has given you.
The Challenge:
During your outdoor activities or time at the gym engage in a time of Help and Thanks with God. Look around you and inside of you; see what you discover.
As an example these are mine,
- Help Me Lord: to appreciate the privilege of having this water to hydrate myself while exercising.
- Help Me Lord: not to get cranky about the smell coming from the Equine centre as I pass by.
- Thank You Lord: for awakening me to how silly and ungrateful I can be sometimes. Thank you for the water.
- Thank You Lord: for the beautiful horses that people get to enjoy right here in our city and for the beautiful scenery as I pass by.
May your week of physical fitness be blessed with a variety of Help and Thanks!
Feathers For Your Journey 
Thanks for your response. I don’t have television, so I’m sometimes behind on the news, and so, yes, the issue of access to water is starting to hit closer to home for us.
As for rising seas and low-lying areas, we have a different situation here in my province. People don’t want to listen to the gov’t when they tell the people that their homes cannot be rebuilt and they will have to move to new areas. Despite the fact that private insurance and gov’t aid is offered to get this done. Water saves lives, but it also takes lives. I am lucky not to live in a war torn nation, we can move to new areas to avoid rising seas without fear of some type of civil war.
Amen! I am planning a future post about this very topic. Water will soon be the most ubiquitous element and at the same time, largely non-potable, so we will all be considering it to be gold, while being flooded by our rising seas. I am grateful that I do not live in a low-lying area, but I do live in a drought plagued state and rationing is about to begin any moment. Our water bill has skyrocketed, literally doubling in the past 18 months and likely to do so again. Can you imagine those people in Detroit that recently had their supply cut off altogether? Water is so precious. I hadn’t even thought about the hydration during exercise aspect. Thank you for pointing that out and for your honest, caring post.