Our first day, back on the trail, began with me standing in the kitchen, staring at the coffeemaker, perplexed. After I pressed the BREW button, it had made the usual gurgling sounds. It had even spit out a couple of drops of coffee and steamed up the interior of the pot. But, that was it.

“What’s going on?”, I wondered. “Why isn’t it making coffee?” I couldn’t figure it out.

Finally, I prayed and asked God.

A split second later, it hit me. There was no water in the reservoir. The previous night, I had placed in the basket a filter, and scooped into it the coffee grounds, but I had forgotten to add water.

If coffeemakers could talk, that one would have informed me: “I need water.”

Minutes later, I was sipping hot coffee and getting dressed & ready for JC’s & my first day on the trail after being off the trail for almost 2 years. We had organized our gear in the basement of our church building, and, nearby, were some items stored there. A word on a plastic, kids’ swimming pool caught my eye.

HO!

Why would a swimming pool say, “HO!”?

I wasn’t sure, but it reminded me of a lesson I once wrote that began with that word in the 55th chapter of the book of Isaiah.

About 12 hours & 8 miles later, JC & I were hot, sweaty and weary. We were out-of-shape, and pushing overloaded carts. The air was heavy with humidity and thick with mosquitoes. And, our cold water jug was nearly empty. My husband prayed for us, asking of the Lord, “We need water.” We wanted to continue walking until we reached the next town, but, at that point, we would have been comforted to find a patch of grass upon which we could pitch our tent, in order to escape the unrelenting rays of the sun. But, to stop would mean no water for that night or the next morning.

We kept walking.

When we reached the cross street that leads into town, I was surprised we had actually made it. JC & I turned left onto the road, and made our way to the intersection. Not far beyond, we saw a sign we recognized as a restaurant that serves as a rest spot for bicyclists that utilize the trail. We headed in that direction, and found a place to park our carts.

Inside, I could see JC & I were not the only sweaty patrons. It was apparent, by the headbands and unkempt hair, we weren’t the only ones who’d just stepped off the trail. JC & I slumped down onto a couple of wooden chairs by the window. The waitress had followed us to the table, and was waiting for our order. All I could think of was cold water and an icy soda. She returned quickly with both, along with an ice water for JC. He had remembered to ask for lemon.

The cool a.c. and the ice cold beverages began to revive us.

Remembering our friends, Albert & Julie, who had accompanied us the first mile, we typed a text to inform them of how far we had walked. Immediately, Albert responded by offering to come & pick us up if we wanted to take showers. My flesh heartily replied, “Yes!” But, my husband said, “No [thank you]. We’re going to try to endure.”

He was right, of course. We had resumed our walk across America, and we needed to stay the course.

But, at that moment, I just wanted relief. When the day had heated up, and the wind blew my hair, causing it to stick to my sweaty face, all I could think about was how badly I wanted to feel cold water running over my hot scalp and through my damp, tangled hair.

I pulled a comb out of my pack, stood up, and said, “I’ll be back.”

In the ladies’ restroom, I turned on the cold water and washed my hands and face. Next, I leaned over the sink, bent my arms and let the cold water run over them. It felt so good. I felt my whole body begin to cool down.

Later that evening, as the sun was setting, we met a man that offered to us the interior of a church building in which we could get some rest & sleep. He showed us around their facility, pointing out the kitchen & restrooms, and telling us to make ourselves at home. JC & I were so grateful.

Alone in the comfort of a shelter, we unpacked the belongings we needed for the night, and made our beds on the floor of one of the classrooms. I took my towel, shampoo & conditioner and walked to the kitchen. In the large sink, I stuck my head under the faucet and ran cold water through my hair. What a relief!

Our kind & generous host had told us to help ourselves to coffee in the morning, so I looked to see what type of equipment they use.

Suddenly, I remembered the coffeemaker incident of that morning.

As it turned out, the kiddie swimming pool I had seen didn’t just say: HO!

Taking a closer look at the photo I had taken allowed me to see there is a 2 above the H-O.

Whether “HO!” or “H2O!”, we have cause to rejoice in the Lord when we read the book of Isaiah…

Isaiah 55 NASB