March 16, 2009

Have You Filled A Bucket Today?

Read Hebrews 13:1-2

There is a children’s book called Have You Filled Your Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud. In the book, the author explains that we each have a bucket that we carry around. Each day, we start out with an empty bucket. When someone does something nice for us and gives us a kind word, our bucket is filled. When we do something for someone else, we help to fill up another’s bucket.

It’s a simple concept that children understand easily, but as adults we need to remember other people’s buckets. What can we do to fill up the bucket? A smile, a hug, a kind word, a note or card, a meal or bag of cookies, a phone call. These things help to fill up someone else’s bucket, but they also help fill up your own bucket.

Growing up, my mother would always remind us of the Golden Rule. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” I used to think it meant “Don’t hit your sister unless you want her to hit you back.” Every Sunday morning at church I’m reminded of the Golden Rule when we have our time of sharing of the peace of Christ. We greet each other and pass the peace of Christ. We smile, we hug and touch another’s hand. We are filling up the buckets of the congregation. We are filling them with our thoughts and prayers. We are passing the peace and love of Christ to our neighbor. In turn, we receive as well and our buckets are filled.

When we are alone, there are ways to fill up our own buckets. We can pray and God fills our buckets. We can sing a hymn or read the Bible, and our buckets are filled. We can read our devotion book, we can attend a Bible study, and we can meditate. I know that attending church with my family and friends, listening to the word of God and singing praises are how I fill my bucket.

Prayer:
Dear Lord,
Help me to remember that everyone has a bucket. My actions each day are a reflection of you, and should be used to fill the buckets of those around me. Lord, please fill my bucket and grant me your peace.
Amen

Libby Van de Putte