What Would You Like To Drink?

"What would you like to drink?"

It's the first question asked at any restaurant. It takes top priority. And quite, honestly, it should. It's a very important question.

You can learn a lot about a person by what type of drink he/she orders.

For example, if they order sweet tea, they're probably from the South.

Unsweetened tea means they've lost their minds. or their taste buds. (or both.)

Soda of any kind means they don't place high importance on keeping their vital organs functioning properly for long. (Guilty!)

And water could mean they're healthy. or cheap. (again, or both.)

And then, depending on the restaurant, there could arise the whole issue of alcoholic beverages, which I see no benefit or wisdom in. 

All of that to say…. perhaps the question of "what would you like to drink?" comes first in the meal because it logically takes the least time to prepare. Or perhaps it's there to show us that while we all have different preferences or "convictions" when it comes to drinking, we all still thirst. We're wired to be thirsty for something.

I honestly don't know about you, but I am ALWAYS thirsty. I could go days without eating with no problem, but it seems like I can't go a half hour without something to drink. Something. Just anything, actually.

I'm by no means a runner, and I don't really have a regular routine of intense workout sessions these days. So, really, there should be no reason that my body longs for something to drink 24/7. When I lived in Florida, I blamed it on the intense Florida sunshine (which I miss very much) and cheerleading practice that occurred in arguably the hottest part of the day, everyday of the school week. 

Now that neither one of those factors apply to me any more, I sometimes like to write-off (in the back of my mind) my thirst as a genetic or inherited issue. My mom is diabetic, and that's sure to come my way one of these days. Therefore, I'm 100% thirsty. all. of. the. time.

However, I lately started to view my thirst "problem" in a much different way. I thought, just perhaps, that I'm always thirsty because I'm not drinking the right things to truly satiate the thirst my body naturally has. Anyone who knows me well could readily testify that my Mt. Dew routine outnumbers my water intake in an embarrassingly high ratio. I'm working on that.

But you know what I find more unnerving than the amount of sodas and the lack of water I drink?

What I "thirst" for on other levels - mentally, emotionally, relationally, socially, and spiritually.

If I'm being real honest, the Sunday School answers I know in my head don't always readily line up with what's going on inside my heart and what it desires, or I should say it may not be so much what I desire but that I desire it too much or the timing doesn't always line up with God's ultimate plan of perfection for my life.

The Bible makes a handful of references to thirst and drinking and has even more lessons that center around water, wells, the Fountain of Living Waters, and never thirsting again. And I want that. Not just as a salvation experience or a I'm-a-good-girl-following-the-rules-and-going-to-church-on-a-regular-basis type ordeal. I'm tired of always being thirsty for more than I have right now. I want to chase continually and intentionally after the Fountain of Living Waters. And not come up thirsty for all these other substitutions that simply weren't designed to satiate me.

In the Beattitudes, Matthew records, "Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness."

And way back in Psalm, David reminds us of the object of his thirst, "As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longeth after Thee." These are just two of the many men that got it right. At the end of the day, I want to be counted with them and let my "cup" overflow with joy, peace, and rest in my Heavenly Father.

Today, what's in your cup?

Better yet, what's in your heart?

The two aren't mutually exclusive.