How Full is Your Bucket? – John 2–4

Come, Follow Me: New Testament 2023 (Feb. 6–12)

A helpful question in self-care discussions is, “How full is your bucket?” It evokes an evaluation of how well you’re meeting your physical and emotional needs such as sleep, good nutrition, physical activity, time with loved ones, and time for yourself. When these basic needs are not met, we tend to function less than our best selves.

As Jesus approached the woman at the well, their discussion was about this very topic. Her daily job was to walk a distance in the hot summer sun, carrying empty water pots (or buckets) that needed to be filled and then carried home. This task had to be hard and trying, but non-negotiable. While a person can survive for many days or weeks without food, death will come after only three or four days without water. 

At first, she believed that He was offering a means of ending this grueling chore, but then she began to understand what He was offering was not a literal filling of her water bucket, but something just as essential to life now and for eternity- unending spiritual hydration, a fountain of living water that fills our spiritual bucket, so we become more than our best selves. 

Keeping our spiritual buckets full is how we overcome the world and find peace and rest. Have you found your daily fountain? Are you filling up? Do you recognize when your bucket is low?  How does it feel when your bucket is full? These are questions worth considering.

Emotional Resilience Skill: Prioritize time to meet your physical, emotional, and spiritual needs.