The Little Bucket Filler

"No one has ever become poor by giving" Anne Frank  

I have a very dear friend who is a good christian. She has a giving heart. I personally know that to be a fact, because she has given us money...to be passed on to others in need. She has a compassionate heart, she cares for others. She shared her story the other day with some of us. I want to share it with you today, because no matter how hard we try and how strong, faithful we try to live, we can learn God's truths everyday. I hope this story that I share with you will touch your heart, as it did mine. I hope you will be reminded, as all of us were, that God's love and truths can shine through children. We need to pay attention. 

And so says the scriptures:
Philippians 2:4 - 
"do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others."

Luke 6:38 -
"Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return."

Here is her story:
Chuck E. Cheese was crowded with bigger kids yesterday, so I was trailing Caleb and we got to the little kid rides. While Caleb was riding a ride, a young boy, 5 or 6-years-old, came to me and asked, 'Would he (Caleb) like to share some of his tokens?' I immediately got stingy - I don't really know why because I didn't pay for them - and I said no, not right now. Caleb got on another ride. I stood there looking at him and I was ashamed. Why couldn't Caleb share a token? What would it hurt? So, I went to Caleb on his ride and asked him if he wanted to share a token with that boy. Caleb looked at him and said, 'SURE!' He didn't hesitate. I asked him if he wanted to give it to him or if he wanted me to do it. He said he would do it and hopped off of a MOVING RIDE to go give that boy a token.

Caleb gave the boy his token and took off. He didn't really realize what he had done or that I had almost robbed him of the gift of giving. I pray he never finds out. The little boy looked up at me and said, 'THANKS! He's a bucket filler!' I heard the words he said, but I didn't comprehend them, so I leaned in and said, 'What?' He repeated, 'He's a bucket filler!' I wasn't familiar with that phrase, but I caught the gist and the way he said it touched my heart deeply. I fought tears as I went to find my little bucket filler again because he was off to the next game - oblivious to how his actions had affected me.

What a lesson and a blessing, y'all. My heart swelled from the little boy's enthusiasm at Caleb's 'token' gift and from Caleb's unabashed willingness to fill that little boy's bucket. I googled 'bucket filler' and found this: A Bucket Filler is someone who says or does something nice for other people. How fantastic is that?! God used that little boy and Caleb to soften my heart and show me what I need to be: a bucket filler. 

Matthew 25:35-40 - 
'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You drink? 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 'And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' "And the King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'
 
 “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Let us all learn this lesson and get out of our ruts and be a 'bucket filler'.  I don't want to be just a dipper, I want to fill a bucket! 

Blessings,
gs