Sunday, April 10, 2011

HOW FULL IS THIS BUCKET?

We've all got one. A bucket. It's kind of invisible. But it's there. Mine seems to be continually emptied or filled ...depending on my day. Or week. Or month. Phases of life swing like a yoyo for me, it seems. But I've noticed something. Along with this bucket, we also have a ladle. I can use my ladle to dip from another person's bucket. Or I can use it to pour myself into others. And the funny thing is that the more I give, the more full my bucket becomes!
But it's true, too, that I've been dry ...I've felt like I poured and poured and poured so much that I ran out. I was burned out. Spent. And I wasn't really sure why. I believed my own lie that "I gave too much energy to this person or to that organization. I have nothing left to give." And I let it depress me. But today it dawned on me that those swings were a symptom of my becoming off-center. For a couple years, I called this "out of balance". Perhaps a better way of understanding this is to picture a top.

Keeping centered in my relationship with God and my understanding of Him and my role in His world is key. In my June 29th post of last year, I was figuring out this whole "keeping centered" thing. I really like the picture of the three rings. (07.29.2010)
Keeping centered. And pouring into others. In so doing, my bucket remains full. My sermon to myself for the day.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

The Story of Life

The answer to the question, "Who am I?" can only be given if we ask "What is my story?" and that can only be answered if there is an answer to the further question, "What is the whole story of which my story is a part?" ~Leslie Newbigin


The big story... God's story... is one that we are privileged with being a part of. Once we get on board with the idea that we are a part if His story and then sit back and review what our individual stories are, it's pretty neat to think about who we are and how to live ON PURPOSE. Rather than just wandering through life, I want to see where God is working and throw myself in there to be a part of it. On purpose. The above quote is from a study I just finished up. It sounds deep on paper, but it's really simplistic when I realize this life is all about God and what He's doing and not about ME and what I can do to impress Him or gain His acceptance. It's freeing actually!