Dipper Or Filler?

What’s in your bucket?

A Skype conversation with a close friend last night entailed this discussion.

We all have our buckets we carry around. Are you a bucket dipper or a bucket filler?

Bucket dippers go around and steal from other people’s buckets, doing nothing but bringing scorn, hatred, and persecution to other people’s lives.

Other people are bucket fillers. They share what they have and in return their buckets are filled with love back.

Are you a bucket dipper or a bucket filler?

I can’t sit here and preach and say “I’m a bucket filler and you should be too.” Because, I’m not always a filler. I do my share of dipping. And when I have the remains of someone else’s bucket, the joy I robbed, I want to sit and sulk…

And think “What have I done?” It’s hard. It happens. But thankfully, we always have the opportunity to go fill up that bucket again with even more than what we took.

Is your bucket dry? Mine sometimes gets that way. Thankfully, and as we were reminded in yesterday’s Gospel lesson, Jesus is the living water and never runs dry. We can turn to Him ANY time to get a full bucket again.

My bucket today has had varied levels of contents. Sometimes it was bone dry. After such a wonderful day of blessings and being stronger than persecution and hardship, my bucket is overflowing with love.

And I want to fill so many other people’s buckets!

It’s funny- you would think that filling other people’s buckets would make your bucket less and less.

But it’s strange- the more you fill someone else’s bucket, the fuller yours gets.

And it’s amazing to look down and see a bucket full of blessings.

This reminded me of a passage from John 10, verses 7-17:   Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.  All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

The bucket dippers are the thieves and wolves. Thank goodness, our Shepherd is a bucket filler.

This list is a bit premature, since I promised lists on Saturdays, and its only Monday, but things in the last 48 hours have sucked so much for so many varying circumstances, some even unrelated to the illness, that a positive list will do me good.

-As always, many hugs

-An amazing group therapy session (I know none of them read this, but Thank you all!)

-A heartbox present

-A “I really just want to go kick their butts! You don’t deserve that!”

-Many one on one conversations full of blessings

-“The people who love you far outnumber the people who don’t!”

-Teaching a lesson about Resurrection Eggs tonight

-“Please stop by sometime!”

-A great Skype conversation

-No throwing up today

-E-mails to someone across the world

-Pulling this quote from my therapy box: “A true hero is one who knows how to hang on a minute longer.”

-Having a direct line to God and being able to go to Him always in prayer