Are you Hydrated?

Hydration....do you drink enough water through out your day to properly hydrate your body?  I do drink water through out my day, but I also know I probably still do not drink as much as my body needs.  

The other day as my son and I were entering our neighborhood we noticed that an ambulance, fire truck, and two police car's were leaving.  We commented about it and then I didn't think about it again.  That is, until later that evening, when I was walking in the neighborhood with a friend.  My friend asked me if I had heard about the drowning today.  I was shocked and quickly began to realize that is why the ambulance, police, and fire department were here earlier!  She told me that a young woman in her mid twenty's had been at our neighborhood  swimming pool and that she had drowned today.

On this day the temperatures were in the high 90's.  Add humidity and the temperature was at least 100 degree's.  The young woman had been laying in a lounge chair for a while and decided to get up and go into the water to cool down.  She jumped off the diving board and into the deep end.  She apparently blacked out as soon as she hit the water.  The life guard on duty noticed she was not coming up and promptly dove into the water and pulled her out.  He and the other lifeguard administered CPR until the paramedics arrived.  It is my understanding that they saved her life and she has fully recovered (praise God!).  The lifeguards are young.  I know the boy is a high school graduate this past May, I am not sure about the other life guard, I believe she is still in high school.  These two young people did something that I am sure they never thought they would have to do.  Even though they were fully trained and qualified (and the proof is in their response) if you were to ask either of them do you think you will ever have to dive in and pull someone out and administer CPR, my guess is they would say, "No, but I am trained and ready if I need to". 

The "rumor" about the woman who drowned is that she was dehydrated.  With the temperatures as high as they are lately there have been a few other stories of heat related accidents and even death on the News. We need to heed the warning signals that our body gives us and respond promptly.  We need to realize that dehydration can happen at any time not just in summer.

This made me think about something...spiritual hydration.  What does it mean to be spiritually hydrated  and if we had to face a situation that we have been"trained" to respond to....would we be able to face it with the bravery, instincts, and confidence that the two lifeguards had at the moment that they saved the young woman. 

Just because we know scripture and have memorized certain passages and stories-can we apply them to our life?  Have we even taken the time to study and memorize scripture?  Are we in fellowship with other believers?  Are you under a pastor who not only preaches the word of God but who has a life that reflects that.? When we reflect on our own life do we see the fruit?  Do others? Are we better at judging others and seeing their faults and sin areas more than our own?  What do we do with our time, money, and talents?  Do you know what you believe and why?

Are we really ready to respond to life's situations, difficulties, crisis, temptations, and problems in a way that is honoring to God. In other words are we spiritually hydrated?  If you answered no to any of the questions then my question to you is....what do you want to do about it?  what choice can you make right now to change any of this? We never know when or if we will be faced with something that will require us to prove our faith in a deep and meaningful (life saving) way.  We never know when we may need to live out the verses we have read.  We are not guaranteed tomorrow and we are not living in a perfect world it is important that we take care to keep physically and spiritually hydrated at all times, in all seasons of life. 

Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. James 1:22