It was time to get out. But the pleasure of the water is hard to resist, so I lie back and kick my way across the pool one last time.

Now, with the pandemic rules in place, which have closed our gyms, I greatly miss those workouts. In times past there seemed to be little time to pamper the body or the soul, as schedules were pinching. But once at that gym while working my muscles and relaxing my mind the machines held substantial appeal. However, having missed out on this “physical pleasure” during these pandemic months, some excesses have taken their toll. Time has come to whittle off those extra inches and stubborn pounds. Thanks to friends who loan their pools, swimming is another option for exercise.

While embracing my pool experience last evening, I savor the water which supports my body, yet resists my movements. The aqua softness yields to my will, gently supporting my movements while exercising my limbs. My mind travels to the ocean, to the life within such mighty depths . . . not so unlike the protective womb designed for humans and other developing mammals.

From the earliest beginnings water has nourished, supported and sustained. What a magnificent gift, this common, yet strange entity. How many times have I taken it for granted?

Years back an article in Time magazine,” Arthur Hull Hayes, U.S. Food and Drug Commissioner, was quoted, referring to human beings as “miniature oceans encased in skin.”  By the measure of scientists we are assured that up to 79% of our body weight is water. Our organs are constantly bathed in a briny solution. We need 200 mg of sodium per day to keep the “internal sea” intricately balanced as required for vital functions such as heart action, nerve impulses, and digestion, to mention a few.

A single slice of bread provides more than half that sodium requirement. Yet, while shakers wave over our plates, many of us consume huge excesses of salt daily. Amazingly enough, this excess is excreted by a pair of true pals, the kidneys. We abuse, they defuse—that is, if they are good strong workers.

There is another water—the water Jesus Christ presented to the Samaritan woman at the well where He told her of a water she could ask for—a lasting, life changing water (John 4:4-14). He explained to her the difference between the water she had come to draw from the well and the water He was about to offer her.

He said, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

He was speaking of the Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit. In John 7:37-38, Jesus cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”  

Jeremiah, one of the great prophets of the Old Testament, referred to this water, describing the Lord as “a fountain of living water.” Passages in Jeremiah 2:13, and 17:13, specifically help us realize further that it is the Lord who is the “living water.”  

Last night as I swam, no such elevated thoughts came to occupy my mind. It was time to enjoy friendships within the experience of water play. God knows we need play in our lives!

Yet, last night, while peering over kicking feet which propelled me across the pool, I felt the voice of many waters surge within. How great is my God, the Maker of us all. With the Psalmist I can sing:  “I will praise you; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are your works; and that my soul knows right well.”

I pull myself up at the pool side—almost able to get out, yet needing Gary’s extended hand, as those extra pandemic pounds have added to the load! I arise, pledging afresh to be exceedingly careful about the fuel I choose to use for this keenly designed piece of equipment, called “the body,” to stay fine-tuned. I also resolve to throw it over the edge a little more often!

Why be so careful and discerning about what to eat, what not to eat—and how much we exercise “the body?” Because it is deemed “the temple of the Holy Spirit” in 1 Corinthians 6:19, “. . . who is in you.”

God has a clear intention for those who understand the meaning of “belonging to Him.” Scripture leaves no doubt that the greatest of all privileges is to know the “living waters”—the Holy Spirit of the living God –is flowing within our beings. This is what empowers us, enabling the mission of reaching and blessing the lives of others.