The Water Runs Dry

A little over a week ago we got a notice from the town of Trophy Club saying that they would be shutting off the water for our area for 12 hours last Saturday. No water for 12 hours???? I wasn't so sure about that. So like any prepared mama would do, I collected tons of water the night before. Vases, bowls, pitchers - if it could hold more than 2 quarts of water, I filled it. It was probably a ridiculous stockpile of water, but I  wanted us to have plenty available. I wish I had taken a photo of all my containers of water. And guess what happened? We never ended up needing it. Not a drop. We had plenty of water any time I went to the tap. (Some of it I did end up using the next day for various purposes so that I wouldn't be wasteful).

This week we got the same notice saying that our area's water would be off again today from 7 am - 7 pm. I meant to make another stockpile but completely forgot about it until late last night. I was already in bed and Ryan and I rationalized that we didn't end up using it last weekend so we probably didn't need to do it for today. WRONG. Arggghhh! We've been out of water all morning. We have plenty of bottled water for drinking purposes but other than that we're out of luck. Hand washing? Nope. (Germ-X). Flushing toilets? Sorry. Washing dishes? I wish. Shower? Don't stand too near to me.

All of this has made me seriously rethink my desire to go back in time and be a wife and mother out on the prairie. Last summer I wrote this post about a night without electricity. To think of life with electricity and without running water seems insane. I'm also beginning to think I would not do well in a natural disaster situation.  And yet so many people all of the world have no electricity or running water in their lives?!?!?! This situation makes me so thankful for what we have (we made sure to PRAISE GOD for our access to clean water every day this morning at breakfast) and it also strengthens my desire to care about clean water access world wide and to be generous to help more people in the countries that are so desperately poor. Water is an amazing blessing!!!

PS I have links on the side of my blog to Amazima Ministries and World Vision. Both of these are awesome ministries that we support and that have ways to help provide clean water to families and children around the world. Feel free to click on either of them to read about what they are doing and ways that you can help.