Hydration - The Eyes & Soul Have It!

I remember when I hated drinking water! It was dull and boring. During the day I would be so busy at work that I didn't drink water at all because it would mean that I would have to go pee. There were days when I didn't go pee until after I got home. My skin was dry, I had headaches, I was sluggish, and my eyes were always red and irritated ~ all because I was dehydrating myself. I never much thought about how the body needs water to function, to operate properly...despite reading the numerous articles that touted the values of a few glasses of H2O daily.

I began to work on my water intake last year when my eyes began to become so irritated that they felt swollen all the time. I was dumping eye drops and eye lubrication drops in them constantly (way more than the recommended dose). Eye drops became an addiction. My eye doctor told me that my eyes were severely dehydrated and that I needed to drink more water - once I did my problem would go away. Thinking...'whatever'..  I decided to humor him and see what happens. I'll be damned if he wasn't right! After several weeks of hydration my eyes cleared up and I found I was using eye drops less frequesntly...some days not at all! Pretty good for an eye drop junkie! Now I let my eyes be the indicator that I'm not getting enough life sustaining fluid!

I typically drink at least 96 ounces of water every day. Since getting off my regular gym and healthy eating routine at R&R I've found that I'm not drinking as much water - or anything at all. I've been more sluggish and my eyes are burning. With the rebirth of my total fitness committment I've started filling up my Camelback bottle more often - which means I'm peeing ALOT!!! Ughhhh. I know that side effect is only temporary until my body gets the hang of water intake again...but I HATE having to pee every 10-15 minutes! Just knowing the rewards are much more than the temporary inconvience, I keep drinking.

I also have begun to drink more of the Spiritual Water. Despite my often Waivering Faith...I still drink because God still provides it. There were/are times, days, months and even a year where I turned off  the faucet - left it on a trickle -because of anger and loss - it was too much to take in. But, I never stopped believing that all I had to do was turn the 'handle' again and the true Living Water would be there. I know that it's okay to struggle with my Faith ... it's okay to be angry with God and to be disheartened - how else would Faith be rebuilt? If there was not struggle there would be nothing to seek...nothing to learn...nothing to hope for...nothing more to believe in. That's what faith is, really...believing that there is a Hope...that there is Peace abundant waiting for me to receive. I'll get there again ~ I have no doubt.

Through my journey and daily spiritual workouts I find myself going back to the Water for a sip or two often; some days I drink more and some days I find myself completely dehydrated. My human emotions are still extremely raw so I only take in what I know I can handle at the time. Each day I open to accept a little more than the day before. I have no doubt that this journey I've been on was designed specifically for me, it doesn't mean that I have to like it or even take it without a question. Even through all of my questions, cries and pleas of "Why?", I can still hear my Daddy's voice telling me (what he always told us), "You'll just have to ask God when you get there".

John 4:14 "But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."

Love, Peace and Faith!