Memory Trouble

It's a little after 6pm, and I just realized I've only had about 3 glasses of water today.  That might not seem like a very big deal to you, but it is for me.  It means I forgot.

You see, a little over a month ago, I woke up super early one morning with a terrible pain radiating from my left kidney.  It was by far the worst pain I've ever been in.  It made me break out in a cold sweat.  It made me nauseated.  It made me cry for my mama!  It pushed me to call a neighbor before dawn to ask for help.  And, as soon as it was over, I swore I was going to change.  I've never been bad about drinking water, but I grew religious about it.  I limited myself to one caffeinated beverage a morning, at most.  I drank water all day long from the minute I got out of bed until I thought my eyes might float out of their sockets.  And, I carefully monitored my calcium intake, just in case.

Sometime over the last couple of weeks, I started to forget that pain, how sharp it was, how much I vowed to never do anything to myself that might bring it back.  I slipped in an extra cup of coffee here, or a Diet Dr Pepper there.  Then, this evening, as I was thinking over my day, I realized I started with a Diet DP, promising myself I'd fill my water bottle as soon as I got to work.  But, work was busy, and I didn't have time to get water this morning, so before I knew it, it was lunch time, and I was in the drive thru, and a cold, sweet Dr Pepper sounded so good.  I did manage to drink a bottle and a half of water this afternoon, but then I came home, made dinner, and poured a glass of raspberry lemonade.  And, now, the day is almost over, and I'm far from having had the water I promised myself just a few short weeks ago.

So, I sat here a while and remembered, on purpose, the frightening pain of that morning and why that water is so important.  And, I thought about the Israelites.  Because that's what seminary nerds do.

Psalm 78:35 says, "They remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer."  You know why they remembered that?  Because they forgot.  And, they had to be reminded.  And, sometimes, reminders are painful.  I would much rather remember and act on the fact that I need to get another drink of water at 6pm than be awakened by a painful reminder at 6am (or earlier!).

I'll let you draw your own Spiritual analogies, but I think you get the idea.  It's time for me to go have some water!