Dear Grandkids,
I just recently learned a lesson that I wish I had learned many years ago. Evidently drinking water and staying hydrated is really important to staying healthy. You would think that this is something I should have known. I’ve been told that I needed to drink more than I do – but it always came across as a suggestion rather as a mandate. I mean after all, I have always been fairly healthy.
At least that’s what I thought. And then I did an inventory of all the medications I take every day:
- a pill to lower my LDL cholesterol
- a pill to lower my blood pressure
- 4 pills (2 in the AM and 2 in the PM) to help prevent kidney stone production
- 2 pills (1 in the AM and 1 in the PM) to control headaches
- Vitamin D because my D level is too low
Maybe I am not as healthy as I thought I was.
As you know I have been battling kidney stones since February. This past week I had my 5th surgical procedure since April to try to get rid of those pesky “thorns in the flesh.” I have been told that I am now at “ground zero” and have been cleaned out. And now I have come to find out that kidney stones are preventable. Say what? Maybe I have been told this all along but just wasn’t listening. Here are two recent conversations with doctors – see if you note a difference…
My urologist – ” You need to drink more – you need to be drinking 3 liters of fluids each day.”
My nephrologist ( saw him for the first time last month) – ” If you will drink 3 liters of fluids each day kidney stones do not have a chance to form in your kidneys because the crystals are getting flushed out.”
Being told to drink 3 liters each day from my nephrologist all of a sudden took on a whole new meaning. NO MORE KIDNEY STONES! So guess what I have started doing religiously every. single. day?
Communication tip: Information is good. But information with specific application is better. To say it another way: knowing the “why” behind the “what” can be motivational and transformational.
Here is another example of the importance of “knowing your why”: As a believer in Jesus we are told to read our Bible. We are often told WHAT to do without being told WHY.
The What Without the Why goes like this – “If you are a Christian, you need to be reading your Bible every day.”
How much better to include the why behind the what – “If you will spend time reading Scripture each day you can expect at least these 5 things: 1) that you will get to know God better and sense His nearness, 2) that you will begin to discern His will and purpose for your life, 3) that you will be better equipped to fight the evil one who seeks to destroy your soul, 4) that you will experience peace and contentment in a way that you have not done before, 5) and eternal things will begin to be prioritized over earthly things and you will develop a joy-fueled hope in this life as you anticipate the life to come.
Knowing the WHY we should read our Bible encourages me to want to read it. Not knowing the why encourages me toward legalism.
So I hope you will remember this – staying hydrated is supremely important. Physically, for the health of your body. And spiritually, for the health of your soul. As you drink the thirst quenching water of the Word you WILL be refreshed and energized and invigorated.
So when you finish reading this epistle, go grab a bottle of water AND your Bible and… drink – for your heart’s content!
And never forget that you are very loved,
Pop Pop
Of all the things she could have ridden me about, my failure to drink enough during the day was what Carolyn rode me about the most. I learned, as you did, later in life that her concerns were legitimate.