Clean, Cool Water

“Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.”

—Matthew 25:34–35

When I ran the Chicago Marathon, my friends and I all signed up to run with Team World Vision. Our family has sponsored a child through World Vision for years, and the money raised by Team World Vision runners buys wells and water purification systems for villages in Africa.

Sometimes as I ran, I prayed for the people who would benefit from clean water as a result of the money we were raising. I’m generally a terrible fund-raiser, and in most situations I’d just end up writing a check so I didn’t have to go through the awkwardness of asking people for money. I had no trouble, though, asking for money on behalf of Team World Vision. I wrote letters and made phone calls, and as I ran, I prayed for mothers and fathers and children half a world away whose lives could change as a result of access to clean water. On the training runs, our coaches reminded us to stay hydrated and encouraged us to pray every time we opened our water bottles, to let the clean, cool water become a symbol of the reason we were running.