Last Friday evening, we noticed a small pool had formed in the front yard under the poplar tree. Not the kind that says, "Yes! Fresh water! Let's go swimming!" but the kind that says, "Quick, call the plumber!" And call the plumber we did. But due to the weekend, no professional was to show until after lunch on Monday and even then, the problem wouldn't be corrected until the next day. And so we did the only thing we could do: we filled up the bathtub and every empty container we could find that would hold water and turned the rest off at the street.And we continued with the plans for my dinner party on Saturday evening. Yes, it does seem to happen that way, doesn't it?
When someone commented, "How horrible!" I was quick to respond, "Oh, no. This is just a little inconvenience." And I truly meant it. After all, I still HAD water. I poured it out of a bottle to brush my teeth, to wash my face, and take my morning meds. I flushed the toilet with the water retained in the bathtub. I was even given a laundry break! And when we needed to take a bath, my wonderful husband would run outside in the often freezing temperatures, turn the water on, and we'd dash in and out of the showers in record time before he ran back out and turned it off again.
Like I said; just an inconvenience. Not a hardship -- like those in Africa or so many other places on the globe where people really do NOT have water. Or have it in such scarcity that no drop is wasted.
I thought about that as I brushed my teeth those few days. I think about it now as I turn the faucet on. I also think about it as the Super Bowl approaches this evening.
You see, the cost of a single Super Bowl ticket -- as of 3 days ago -- was $5,500 upward. The cost of building a hand-dug well with hand pump that will serve 500 people in Africa? $5,000. OR, for the cost of 25 Bowl tickets one could purchase a "deep bore hole with submersible electric pump and a diesel-powered generator serving 6,000 people."
(http://www.africanwellfund.org/FAQ.html)
That, my friends, is a lot of water for the price of a football game.
Please don't get me wrong. I'm not here to spoil the evening nor make anyone feel guilty. My husband and I will be tuning in ourselves to watch from our, albeit, free seats. I just know that this year I will be looking at the crowd a little differently. And I do have wonder just what God might be seeing Himself. Or hearing. Will it be cheers or cries?
All for the cost of a Super Bowl ticket.
Just an ordinary moment...
