Broken cisterns.

I'm dying of thirst!" Have you ever said that? The terrible truth math is that maybe you are. What is hydration anyway? Hydra is the name given to the largest constellation of stars in the sky--a celestial connect-the-dots representing a mythical water serpent. Hydration means "to be mixed or infused with water." When we drink enough, we're hydrated. When we don't, we're in trouble.

Just as a car can't run without gas and oil, the human body can't operate without water. All cell and organ functions depend on it. To put it in proper perspective, water makes up 95 percent of our brains, 82 percent of our blood, and 90 percent of our lungs. That pretty much says it all. A mere 2 percent drop in our body's required water reserves can trigger signs of dehydration: fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math skills, and difficulty focusing on smaller print such as that on a computer screen. (If you're having trouble reading this, you might want to reach for a glass of water along with your reading glasses.) Mild dehydration is also one of the most common causes of daytime fatigue.

In addition to keeping our bodies functioning, water plays a key role in preventing disease. Enjoying eight glasses of water a day can decrease the risk of colon cancer by 45 percent, bladder cancer by 50 percent, and even reduce the risk of breast cancer. These are just a few examples.

Thankfully, drinking water is virtually flee. During Creation week, our Great Physician made sure that the two most important elements we'd need for existence--air and water--were freely available anywhere on earth. Water is also taste flee. Except for a few areas of the world where minerals may affect the flavor, water doesn't offend anyone's pallet.

Today, because of the imbalance of nature brought on by sin, and humanity's continuing misuse of natural resources, there are places where water is scarce and therefore highly valued.

A few months ago I made a trip to the lovely island of Bermuda. This tiny speck of land in the middle of a very large ocean represents a good case for "water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink." The only fresh water on the island comes from rain and whatever can be shipped in. That's why the government is very careful to harvest every drop that falls from the sky. All houses and buildings are topped with the same roof construction--a series of white painted tiles that direct rainfall to a cistern built next to the building, usually underground. Thanks to the island's subtropical location, rainfall is usually heavy enough to supply all the water that's needed. On Bermuda, and in other parts of the world, water is not a commodity to be wasted.

As I think about the connection between water and life, I'm reminded of a conversation our Great Physician had one day with a woman from Samaria. You can read the story in John 4:6-26. Sitting beside a well, Jesus told her that He had water to offer that, if she drank it, she'd never thirst again. We know He wasn't referring to [H.sub.2]O, but to something that rehydrates us down deep in our very spirit. There are times when we feel discouraged and rejected in other words, dried out. The "living water" Jesus offers can bring us back to life emotionally and spiritually.

How do we get this promised nourishment? First, we realize that only our Great Physician offers that amazing type of water. Because of this, He must become the center of our lives. Second, we receive it by reading His Word and talking to Him in prayer. If we do this consistently, we'll find our discouragement, guilt, and spiritual dryness washed away, replaced by waves of peace, joy, and confidence. The problems of life may not disappear, but we can now confront our daily challenges without wilting.

In Jeremiah 2:13 God describes His wayward nation with these words: "My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water."

Are we doing any better today? Do we sometimes let God's lifesaving words slip through us like water leaking from a broken container? When we learn to value His truth, we begin gathering every drop and storing it carefully in our minds, ready to be used throughout our lives.

In the last chapter of the last book of the Bible, our Great Physician offers us this beautiful invitation: "'Come!' And let him who hears say, 'Come!' Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life" (Revelation 22:17).

How about it, friend? Would you like a drink of water right now?

Richard O'Ffill writes from Longwood, Florida.