In my religious tradition, taking a bath is about a lot more than getting clean.

The tub is ready. Water just as hot as I like it. I slip in, whisper, Thank you. I'm not talking to myself or some anonymous cosmic energy, but to God.

To my way of thinking, there is no place where God is not. That includes this bathtub. The Hebrew Bible speaks of ritual bathing as a way to renew ones relationship with God. In the Christian gospel, baptism is a bath that is charged with God's Spirit. This is all a way of showing that God cares not just for our spirits, hearts, minds, but for our bodies.

You could say that taking a bath - or bathing another, as a parent bathes a child - is a way to practice our faith, as much as praying or giving to charity is practicing faith. It happens like this: Taking off the protective layers of clothing reminds us of how vulnerable we all are. Feeling the waters soothing warmth or letting it drench us in the shower challenges us to remember how sacred our bodies are – how wondrously, beautifully we are made in the image of God.

All this I may or may not be thinking about as the water swirls over and around my body. Really, the only thing necessary is to remember to say thank you.