My cup overflows with blessings.
Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life.
Psalm 23 NLT
My daughter often comes home from school telling me about her bucket, and what fills it. What has come to be a popular elementary school theme, the bucket analogy is used to describe people feeling full (good) or empty (bad). Her teacher discusses with the class things that they can do to fill someone’s bucket, and things that might in turn, empty a bucket. She encourages them to take small actions that fill a classmate’s bucket, like sharing or being kind. She discourages emptying buckets by being mean or selfish.
My version of the bucket analogy is filling, or emptying my cup. I know we should focus on filling other’s cups, but I am discovering that it is only by filling my own cup, that I can share the overflow of blessing with others.
And it is only by experiencing an overflowing cup that I realize how empty my cup was a few years ago. It is true that we appreciate abundance by knowing poverty.
In the years that I was consuming alcohol and it was consuming me, my cup ran dry. Literally filling a cup full of drink led me to a metaphorical desert wasteland. Maybe empty is a better word. My cup was empty.
What’s in an Empty Cup?
And what did this empty cup of mine look like? If you looked inside, you saw nothing, but if you felt inside, you would feel:
- Bitterness over my predicament, over the hand I was dealt.
- Self-centeredness about my feelings and how and when I would get my needs met.
- Self-pity about why I couldn’t be like everyone else. Why was I the one with the problem?
- Numbness when I drank, and the desire for numbness when I didn’t.
- Guilt around the fact that this substance was the center of my life, yet I was a wife and mother of three.
- Stagnation in my career, personal growth and any dreams I once dared.
- Isolation from a substance that made me feel unrelatable, unlovable, and like I just wanted to hide.
- Illness all day long with the desire to lie bed and stay inside.
- Insanity in doing the same thing, day after day, and hoping for a different result.
That was a whole lot of empty in my cup, for a long, long time.
What’s in a Cup Full of Blessings?
But then I stopped drinking and a lot of that emptiness disappeared. Not instantly, but like a gradual emerging or becoming. I noticed a slow drip that began to fill the bottom of my cup. Then it became a stream and eventually a downpour. My cup runneth over. What does this overflowing cup look like?
- Joyfulness in being present each day.
- Humility in who I am and how I see the world around me. The realization that I am a small part that can contribute to the whole.
- Gratitude in my daily life, expressed in prayer and journaling. Expressed here to you, and for you.
- Kindness springing forth from the first-hand experiences that wounded me and eventually healed, leaving behind a desire to heal those who still hurt.
- Encouragement to anyone who crosses my path, anyone who will listen to me tell them that “I am here, I am for you and I am here for you.”
- Knowledge available for me to soak up from the world around me. Books, podcasts, blogs, and communities of people who help me grow and realize my potential.
- Connection to people with shared experiences who felt it, get it, and can move forward with me. People I can walk home with.
- Wellness and the ability to go outside and appreciate nature and the beauty that surrounds me.
- Peace of mind, heart and soul, over the fact that I don’t have to wake up and do the same abusive thing day after day, hoping for a different result.
My cup overflows, and allows me to share with others. I feel goodness and unfailing love each morning, and my heartfelt desire is for your cup to be filled to overflowing as well. I am all too familiar with how it feels to be empty.
How can I fill your cup today?
This is absolutely perfect. I love this so much and this describes how I feel/did feel. Thank you for this
Thank you, givejoy. Your cup will be overflowing soon…if it isn’t already. And even just a partially filled cup is excellent, compared to an empty one! 💕
Thank you for saying that. My cup does overflow when I keep taking time for myself. Your posts are fantastic
LOOK AT THAT CHEMEX!!!!! That right there filled my heart just seeing your featured photo. Is that awful? 🙂 Love this post my darling. A friend of mine told me long ago, “You want to keep a saucer underneath your cup Barb, and give from the saucer, not your cup.” Give from the overflow and your cup won’t empty. xxx
That’s so funny. I didn’t even realize it was a Chemex beck I don’t have one. I love the idea of catching the overflow and giving from the saucer! 💕
this is such a great reminder…especially lately feeling like i need to get back on track …ty!
Thanks for reading, Lovie. 💕
Beautiful read, Collette. Thank you!
Thank you, Elizabeth. Have a beautiful day! 💕
That’s such a coincidence. Our team psychologist carried out a session with us on Friday and one of the quotes he used was “you can’t pour from an empty cup”. I was feeling pretty rough and stressed Friday afternoon. The meeting/session ended and I was about to start checking emails and I thought about that quote. At 3pm I knew I was struggling so I closed my laptop and went to bed. I slept for 3 hours. When I woke I immediately felt guilty and went to ‘catch up’ but I stopped myself. I had pushed myself beyond empty and I wasn’t going to be any good to anyone if I didn’t refill my cup. So I stopped and I had some tea, a bath and an early night. You can’t pour from an empty cup! You got to keep that bucket filled and that emotional bank account topped up. 💕💕😘
Yes we are learning how to take care of ourselves and know when we need a refill, on self-care instead of wine! Before, we would of just pushed it all down, numbed out and really be of no help to anyone! Hope your cup is full this week…or at least not empty. Take care! Xx💕
I so needed this. Thank you xxx
Thank you for reading, friend. I emailed you a comment/question on your blog…look for it. Xx
So loving. So comforting. So beautiful 🥰
Thank you, friend!💕