By Lacey Gunter
So I don't know how many of you read one of the news articles this week about Sao Paula and their big problems with water shortage. If you missed it, you can read the NY Times version here. The story was rather alarming. I contemplated to myself what life would be like if I only had access to running water every few days. I know it's possible to live this way and in many poorly developed countries this is not all that uncommon. But to me the idea seemed mortifying.
The LDS Church harps on being prepared for emergencies and disasters, and water storage is high on that list of preparations. But as I thought about it more, how long are a couple 55 gallon drums of water going to last you if your city has to cut off water supply several days a week for an indefinite amount of time? Emergency water storage is obviously only a temporary solution. If that scenario persisted for any long period of time you would either have to move, come up with your own alternate source of fresh water or drastically modify your life style.
What would life look like if the third option was your only choice? I'd be willing to bet that for most of us any creative pursuits would have to be coached to provide time to meet the basic necessities of life, especially for mothers. Can you imagine bucket showers, hand laundry, and hand dish washing all on a limited water budget? And can you imagine basic sanitation? It's one thing when you are out roughing it in the wild and you can just dig a small whole to deal with your business. But no plumbing in the middle of a city or the suburbs is a whole different ball game.
Then I thought about the even more subtle things, like the fact that showers are my biggest emotional reboot times. That's the time I give myself pep talks to meet the challenges I am facing, organize my day and do a fair amount of creative brainstorming. Somehow I don't think the occasional bucket shower is going to do that for me. And Heaven knows I would feel too guilty using up enough water to make a relaxing bath. It all would be very challenging.
I am so grateful for the simple blessings that come from running water. Climatologists are predicting a ten year drought for most of America. So I don't know about you, but I am definitely going to be praying for rain for both us here in North America and for the people living in Sao Paulo.
So I don't know how many of you read one of the news articles this week about Sao Paula and their big problems with water shortage. If you missed it, you can read the NY Times version here. The story was rather alarming. I contemplated to myself what life would be like if I only had access to running water every few days. I know it's possible to live this way and in many poorly developed countries this is not all that uncommon. But to me the idea seemed mortifying.
The LDS Church harps on being prepared for emergencies and disasters, and water storage is high on that list of preparations. But as I thought about it more, how long are a couple 55 gallon drums of water going to last you if your city has to cut off water supply several days a week for an indefinite amount of time? Emergency water storage is obviously only a temporary solution. If that scenario persisted for any long period of time you would either have to move, come up with your own alternate source of fresh water or drastically modify your life style.
What would life look like if the third option was your only choice? I'd be willing to bet that for most of us any creative pursuits would have to be coached to provide time to meet the basic necessities of life, especially for mothers. Can you imagine bucket showers, hand laundry, and hand dish washing all on a limited water budget? And can you imagine basic sanitation? It's one thing when you are out roughing it in the wild and you can just dig a small whole to deal with your business. But no plumbing in the middle of a city or the suburbs is a whole different ball game.
Then I thought about the even more subtle things, like the fact that showers are my biggest emotional reboot times. That's the time I give myself pep talks to meet the challenges I am facing, organize my day and do a fair amount of creative brainstorming. Somehow I don't think the occasional bucket shower is going to do that for me. And Heaven knows I would feel too guilty using up enough water to make a relaxing bath. It all would be very challenging.
I am so grateful for the simple blessings that come from running water. Climatologists are predicting a ten year drought for most of America. So I don't know about you, but I am definitely going to be praying for rain for both us here in North America and for the people living in Sao Paulo.
Hmm...that’s something to think about...
ReplyDeleteI think I can easily say I take water for granted, I shouldn't but I do
ReplyDeleteLoved reading this!!!
ReplyDelete