Water.....

Water is something that we all tend to take for granted.  We live in part of the world where water is safe, clean, and plentiful.  If someone catches a water-borne disease from our municipal supply or from bottled water, it is almost outrageously shocking.  We step into the shower and water of whatever temperature we desire cascades down on our aching muscles.  We run washing machines and dishwashers.  We flush.  And most of us think nothing at all of it.  It's normal.  It's our right, right?

Ancient peoples had more respect for water.  It represented birth, life, health and survival.  All early creation stories center around the presence of water.  God is compared to water:  "And the earth shall be filled with the power of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the seas...."

We are created of dust and water and the breath of life.  The balance of water in our bodies is a life-and-death issue.  Too much water and we can have seizures, heart failure and death.  Too little, and, oddly, we have similar problems for different but equally dire reasons.  Homeostasis (the ability of the body to maintain itself in steady state) is critically dependent on the flow of water in and out of the body.  Too much of either, too little of either....things go badly.

I was homeless for a brief time when I was in high school (or "alternatively housed" as the author of The Boxcar Kids Blog would say), living with my family in a campground.  I had to walk a bit, outdoors, to the nearest facility with running water.  I had to help carry any water needed for cleaning and drinking back to our campsite.  If I needed a bathroom, it didn't matter if it was raining, sunny, or (on more than a few occasions) snowing.  Since that time, I honestly never sit on a toilet or step into a shower without thanking God that it is indoors.

Babygirl's kidney is (like everyones) the indoor plumbing system that we all take for granted.   Fluid in, fluid out.  Dialysis was the medical equivalent of using an outhouse, inconvenient and not as effective as the real thing.  None of us spend a lot of time thinking about plumbing, and probably a lot less time pondering the miracle that is homeostasis.  Now our family thinks about it all the time. 

Water is life.  So DRINK, Babygirl!

DeeDee