I don’t know about yours, but my rain gauge read 4.5 inches of rain one day last week. That is the most rain I’ve measured since moving here. Weather warnings routinely projected “River Flooding.” Friends spoke of basements flooded. We were wet all around. However, our local woes were far less devastating than in other places in the United States; snow bombs, blizzards in the double digits, flooding, tornadoes, violent winds hit far and wide.
A maxim about water is that “Water seeks its own level.” That is so precise. I learned from a contractor friend, that he uses a “Water Level” tube to assure level accuracy while building. Actually, it is a vintage method of assuring level in construction. When he needs to check the level at two separate spots, he uses a clear plastic tube nearly filled with water to spotcheck as needed. It is especially necessary when checking spots around a corner from each other. It is so accurate and so simple it boggles my mind.
The recent water woes demonstrated a less desirable facet of water seeking its own level; Mudslides out West were as frightening as they were devastating. Not only was property and scenery lost, but also people were injured and lives were lost. Water can (and sometimes does) move mountains.
Water presents a paradox; too much is devastating. So is too little. My grandson Zach, a graduate student, is studying water use and its impact on environmental sustainability. He came face-to-face with water issues during his internship last year. Agriculture, healthcare, transportation,—–well, you name it—-our need for water and its role in our lives are critical issues.
Who can forget mom scolding you for using a bad word an saying, “I’m gonna wash your mouth with soap!”—soap AND water! Have you noticed the sales attraction water has to us human types? 93.05% of commercials on TV include water! (That’s according to The Willis Moore famous Magnum Rejoinder). Water is often called the universal solvent, It isn’t but it seems like it.
The very first sentence in the Bible, speaks of water; there are 722 mentions of water in the Bible—the Creation, the rescue of Moses, the parting of the Reed Sea, cleansing (often) and baptism, all speak of water. As I write this, Christians the world over are celebrating the Baptism of Jesus (January 8), in the Jordan River, by John The Baptizer.
When Jesus met the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, water, of course became the center topic. Very likely, she had come for more than one reason. The obvious reason was the necessity of getting water. But she left, after a frank discussion with Jesus, with her thirst for life’s meaning quenched. Again, water gave a lucid reflection , almost as if God had said again, “Let there be light!.” It is worth noting that in the final words of the Bible, the final chapter of the Book of Revelation, in the vision of John of Patmos, the Angel gives him a view of the river of Life-giving water.
So, check your water level; it matters a great deal. Whether it is life giving water ( H2O), or the metaphor for Life-giving Water, Our vitality depends on it.
©Copyright Willis H. Moore 2022