Friday night at the CA/Mt. Pleasant football game I learned
a very valuable lesson. It was late in the game when I started experiencing
stomach cramps accompanied by intense perspiration and dizziness. I had gone
down to the fence to talk to my cousin Cliff when the symptoms started getting
worse, so I decided to head back to the stands. As I reached the steps, I was
told that Chandler was sick, so I decided I would go check on him even though I
wasn’t sure if I could make it to where he was. About that time I was
approached by Dr. James Thomas who happened to notice I was not my normal self.
It was at that time I collapsed in front of everybody there at the game. After
many good people tended to me and I was coming to a little more, it was
determined I was dehydrated. I had gone all day without drinking any water.
Coffee and soft drinks are all I had to drink that day, and combined with the
heat and humidity took their toll. After a trip to the ER to get some IV
fluids, we were able to return home. The lesson I learned was how important it
is to drink plenty of water.
While my body suffered the consequences of not having the
water, there is a consequence that is far greater for people who don’t partake
of a different kind of water. Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well that
He offers the living water that would never make you thirst again as well as
lead to eternal life (Jn. 4:10,14). There are people in this world who are
spiritually dehydrated because they don’t have the living water that the Lord
provides. The consequences of this spiritual dehydration are much worse than
the symptoms I had, because without the living water we are doomed to the
eternal fire of Hell (Mt. 25:41).
This was a wake-up call for me, and I have started drinking
plenty of water. Hopefully those who are spiritually dehydrated can receive a
wake-up call before it is eternally too late.
Brotherly,
Jeremy T. Butt
