I have a memory that seems very clear to me. However, I have learned to be a bit suspicious of my memories. Researchers tell us that some of the memories that seem most clear are actually not very accurate. What happens is that when we tell stories of past events over and over, we tend to embellish the stories and the process of repetition causes us to incorporate things into the stories that were not part of the actual events. This can be true even if we haven’t told the stories to others. Stories that we are only recalling for ourselves also become embellished when we recall them over and over. And I am old enough that there are events and people that I cannot recall.

So here is the story that I remember. I hope it is fairly close to the event that occurred. We were on one of our trips to visit our sister church in Costa Rica. Those trips were for all ages and we would travel with a few members of our South Dakota Congregation to San Jose, Costa Rica, where we would visit our sister church, do a few work projects, and do a little touring of the country. This particular year we had partnered with our sister church to purchase a house across the street from the church building to be a home for church leaders as well as provide space for youth gatherings. The house was in need of paint and repairs, so our group was working on the house. In the bathroom, there were live electrical wires hanging out of the wall over the shower head. This is common in Costa Rica. Instead of household water heaters, small electric heaters are installed at the shower head to warm the water for showers. They work for the most part, but problems are fairly frequent. Those of us who had made multiple trips to Costa Rica all had stories to tell about lukewarm or cold showers. Part of the trick of making the heaters work is to decrease the volume of water so that there is less cold mixing with the trickle of hot that goes through the heater. On a previous trip, sparks had flown from one of the units while a young man was showering early in the morning before our trip to catch an early flight home. As we stood in the hall way, trying to be quiet so we would not disturb other guests in the hostel where we were staying, he called out “Fire, fire!” Coached not to make loud noises, his cries were muffled. No injuries occurred and the situation was soon corrected, but it made a funny story for us to tell later.

Having had those experiences, three of us were in the bathroom of the new house the church had purchased discussing the need to go to the hardware store to purchase a new electric heater for the shower. The young mother who was going to live in the house overheard our conversation and stood in the doorway of the bathroom to tell us that she didn’t want a hot water heater. She told us that hot water is not healthy. “It gives you wrinkles!” she declared. She did not want her children to learn to take hot showers. The water that comes out of the tap was good enough for showers in her opinion. The three of us, standing awkwardly in that small room, were all much older than she. Decades of living had left plenty of wrinkles in our skin. We had no counter argument. We quickly agreed to make sure the wires were safely protected from water and to forgo installing a water heating shower head. I chuckle when I remember the scene: one very short Costa Rican woman lecturing three older North American gentlemen on skin health as they stood in a small bathroom with her blocking the doorway. Sometimes it takes dramatic events for us to remember that mission is all about forging partnerships, and not very much about things we do for others.

I confess that I still take hot showers. In fact, I waste a significant amount of water because I like the water to be warm before I step into the shower. In our house the hot water heater is in the garage and our shower is in a bathroom in the northeast corner of the house. There is quite a bit of pipe between the two locations and the water in those pipes cools to room temperature quickly. To have a hot shower, the water needs to run for a couple of minutes. I stand outside of the shower until the steam begins to rise, informing me that the water is hot. It isn’t the only way I waste water. Often, in the evening, after a long day, I will soak in a hot tub surrounded by gallons of warm water. It is a luxury that I have grown to appreciate - the result of purchasing a home that was furnished by previous owners. I know that all of this hot water wastes not only water but also the energy that is used to warm it. For the sake of luxury, I consume resources.

Not far from our home, the severe weather shelters are open, welcoming people who are experiencing homelessness. Temperatures that seem mild to us, having lived for decades in a place that gets a lot colder, can be life-threatening. I feel guilty when I compare the luxury of a hot tub with the circumstances of homeless people shivering under a wet blanket trying to survive. Still, I continue to luxuriate in the simple pleasure of warm water surrounding my body.

We are born in water and we are made of water. Our connections to water are elemental. I find that I come up with many creative ideas when I am standing in the shower. Inspiration is a regular part of the luxury of an abundance of warm water. While I respect our Costa Rica partners, I haven’t adopted the practice of cold showers. I don’t mind the wrinkles. They are well-earned signs of a long and adventurous life.