Are You a Leaky Bucket?

There is a story about an elderly lady in an impoverished country who had two large buckets she used to collect water from a stream some distance away. Each bucket hung on the ends of a long pole, which she carried across her neck. One of those buckets had a crack in it and the other bucket was perfect. The undamaged bucket always delivered a full container of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the house. But the cracked bucket always arrived only a half full one at best.

For two years the elderly lady went to the stream each day with the same two buckets, and she would always carry home one full bucket and one half full one. The perfect bucket was proud of itself. The cracked bucket was very ashamed of its own failings and imperfections, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been created to do.

After two years of what the cracked bucket considered to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. “I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house and you work so hard, and I let you down.”

The elderly lady smiled and said, “Didn’t you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other bucket’s side? I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water the flowers. For two years, I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my table and gives me so much joy.”

The enemy of our souls wants us to focus our minds on our flaws, on the areas of failure, past sins, and a sense of never being good enough for our Saviour to love us. The truth is that so many of us do fail, even the best of us, but that doesn’t make us a failure. Instead of focussing on what you see as your failings, look instead at what you can do for the Lord.

You could give words of encouragement to someone in need, utter prayers for people who don’t know Jesus, or who are struggling. Or you could cook a simple meal for someone. Perhaps there are tasks you undertake each week at your church where you might feel unnoticed, but Jesus always sees them.

You could be the one who brings the water of life to those who are thirsty and the one whom God can entrust with those simple flowers (souls), to bring much blessing to Him.

Yes, seek God’s healing and wholeness, but know that God can still use you in your weakness. Read our verse for today again and be encouraged.