Water Ways

Here in Pittsburgh with our three rivers and many creeks and lakes and streams we know the work and wonder and play of water. It is true that we are drawn to water. We vacation at the ocean, we spend an afternoon near the banks of lakes and ponds, and water supports our industry.

Water, that most precious of resources is so essential to life --- water: bathe, wade, quench, sip, gulp, wash, splash, dive, refresh, sustain.

The global community celebrated WORLD WATER DAY earlier this weekend. For over 750,000 citizens of our shared world, water is a scarce resource. Thousands of women walk several miles each day to gather water for the cooking, cleaning, watering of crops and livestock. They endure years-long droughts. Companies intervene and stake claim to water-ways and place fees on what once was free-flowing.

Here, in the United States we tend to take water for granted. When thirsty, we turn on the spigot or reach in the fridge for a plastic bottle of water. What must three-fourths of the world think about that? With little a thought or concern of if the water will be there, we take our showers, brush our teeth, wash our dishes, even fill-up balloons and squirt guns for water battles. Last summer's drought that baked the midwest shocked us with the apocalyptic-tinged images of miles upon miles of withered, shrunken, burnt acres of corn or the cracked rows of rutted dirt. However, the initial shock quickly passed and the heavy snowfalls of this winter have thankfully filled the water table.

Today, in the many ways you will use water...first....pause. Think. Reflect on this most precious of resources. Consider what it must be like for the thousands who must walk and work for the water we receive so easily.

For an additional exercise, in the readings and reflections and remembrances of this Holy Week, look for the role that water plays in these stories. If not mentioned directly in the text, consider how water was present and what it lends to the story.

Water...the very start of our creation begins there.

sj;