Be a Bucket Filler

I've been shockingly busy the last few weeks. It's not a feeling (or a state) that I much care for but...here we are. And, unfortunately, that's not likely to abate any time soon. My discretionary writing volume has been drastically reduced for a number of reasons: summer coming to a close, ramping up for school, vacations, a substantial amount of paperwork for my ordination....

I could go on but all the busyness has left me feeling a bit...drained. Like I'm carrying around water in a bucket that's full of holes. (I guess you could call it...wait for it..."holy".)

Here's what I've discovered though: your life is like a bucket. And most of our buckets have leaks. Many of us need to regularly pour out of our buckets in the world around us. And all of us are in need of having our buckets refilled.

Ultimately, that refilling comes from God. While there are many vehicles he choose to use to convey that water into our buckets, we know both from scripture and experientially that one of the main vehicles he uses is ordinary people. "Believe in me," Jesus said, "and rivers of living water will flow from you."

Here's the thing: every day, in every interaction, you are either filling up people's buckets or poking holes in them. In our house, we talk about being "bucket fillers". It's not your responsibility to fill up the buckets of folks around you, but it is a privilege. And oftentimes, it's not very hard: kind words, encouraging words, positivity, hope, contentment, consistency, generosity...love given and received is the currency which fills up our buckets.

So today, go forth and be a bucket filler. It's not "another thing to do." Hopefully, it comes as an extension and overflow of who you are. Just make it a point to think about the buckets of the people around you. And make it a point to add a little bit of value in people's lives wherever you can.