Dirty Water

Last night, Christina shouted from upstairs “Mom, come quick, there is something wrong with the tub!”  I ran upstairs and she was standing there, still dripping from her shower, and sure enough the tub was full of brown soapy water.  “What is that?”  Well, it was after 11pm on an evening in April in Bloomfield, time for the town’s annual flushing of the water hydrants, causing our water to turn an ugly rusty brown.  They do it late at night, when the town is mostly asleep.  Unfortunately for Christina, she took a shower during the middle of it. 

 “What do I do?” she asked, “I just washed my hair in that water!” 

“Nothing you can do right now, just go to bed.  The water will be all right tomorrow”

And I thought about the fact that for many moms in the world, the solution is not that easy.  For many moms, there is no other choice but dirty water.  Not only for bathing and washing our hair, but for drinking too. 

Where we live, clean water is a given. If we’re thirsty, turn on the tap and clean water comes right out. All kinds of drinks are at our fingertips. Truth is -- we're the minority. Right now, 1.1 billion people on the planet don't have access to clean, safe, drinking water. That's one in nine of us. Dirty water causes 80% of all sickness and disease and kills more people every year than all forms of violence, including war.

But what can we do?

In May 2013, Liquid Church had a fund raising campaign for clean water, culminating in a 5K Run/Walk, called the Superhero 5K.  They have sent teams to places like Africa, Haiti, El Salvador where they build clean water wells so that other communities can have clean water like we do.  They plan to build more wells too. 

Although I participated in the 5K, I walked, and certainly I am no super hero!  But you can be a hero to these children by making a donation of $10, $20 or more.  Even though the 5K is over, the need is not gone, so please visit the website to find out more and donate here: LiquidWater.com.  A contribution of the amount of money we would spend on Dunkin Donuts coffee for a week can help bring life-giving water to a child and their family. 

Thank you!

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’  ~ Matthew 25:34-40