What Goes Down in the Well Comes Up in the Bucket
As a little girl, I loved to visit relatives who had a well with a bucket. The bucket was tied to the end of a rope. To get water, we had to:
- Lower the bucket into the well
- Listen for the bucket to go under the water
- Turn the crank on the side of the well to bring up the bucket of water
I learned what goes down in the well comes up in the bucket.
- Throw toys in the well; toys come up.
- Dump garbage in the well; garbage comes up.
- Spill food in the well; food comes up.
The same holds true for our lives.
What we pour into our lives comes out in how we live.
- Feed our minds and hearts good thoughts; good behavior follows.
- Dump trash into our brains; we treat ourselves and others like trash.
- Fill our lives with truth; we live that truth.
Our actions show what we believe.
- If we believe in respect, we show respect.
- When we love others, we show love.
- If we have faith in God, we demonstrate that faith.
Let’s get our lives right before we kick the bucket. Let’s make our good deeds more than a drop in the bucket.
“Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life’” (John 4:13-14 NIV).
Have you used a well with a bucket? If so, please share your experience below.
Thanks to Dr. Dwayne Norman, pastor of Campbellsville Baptist Church, for the suggestion. Photo courtesy of Pixabay.
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8 thoughts on “What Goes Down in the Well Comes Up in the Bucket”
Amen. What we pour in is what pours out. I pray today will be a day of soaking in His love and pouring out His love to others.
What a wonderful blessing, Melissa—soaking in His love and pouring out his love! Thank you. I pray the same for you.
Thank you for making this great analogy! Garbage in the well — garbage comes up. So true. My great-grandma had a well just outside her kitchen. We weren’t supposed to play near it but were occasionally allowed to pump it as a help to whoever was cooking. Good memories!
Thank you, Susan. I am amazed at how often the simple things in life make the best memories and teach the greatest lessons.
What a wonderful image to hold in our hearts especially after reading your words too.
Thank you, Jean. I’m so thankful for the opportunity to share a bit of God’s truth through those words and images.
My Aunt Maybelle had a well, when I was growing up in rural South Alabama. I was told to stay away from it, so I don’t have many memories of the bucket.
Great metaphor!
Stephanie, your aunt was wise to use caution. One day my sister turned loose of the well handle at our Uncle and Aunt’s. The handle flew around and hit her in the head. That was scary.
Thank you.