In our lifetimes we have many occasions that are
outstandingly happy; others that are outstandingly sad.
However, in our lifetimes there are probably more moments
that are somewhat in between being very happy and very sad.
In the times when we have a need, a tiny drop of love works
wonders to raise our spirits and give us hope for a future.
Sometimes we use the
expression, "that was just a drop in the bucket" and it
means usually to the person speaking that the amount of
money he or she had was just a small amount and not enough
to pay for whatever is wished for. I have found a new way to
use the expression, "just a drop in the bucket." I am now
using a rather unique idea that I ran across with just a few
modifications??¦well a lot of modifications??¦ to change the bit
of sadness or unhappiness that a friend is having into a fun
and inspiring time. I have taken the idea of "a drop in the
bucket" and elaborated on it to bring joy and happiness to
several friends.
Here is my idea. I take a
simple but small paint bucket that I purchase at the local
Wal Mart and decorate it with the name of the person I am
giving the bucket to as a gift. Now who wants a bucket from
Wal Mart with their name on it? I would love to have one and
I believe anyone who is very happy and especially those who
are very sad will be exceedingly happy to have this bucket.
But wait, the empty bucket is just a part of the story. You
see, when I make the special bucket, I tell the other
friends and co-workers or their church group all about the
bucket. With their help, the bucket will soon be filled with
not "just a drop in the bucket" but a bucket full of good
wishes, happy thoughts, inspirational quotes and sometimes
perhaps small booklets that we find in many bookstores.
I made three of these
special buckets today. One is for a friend who is going
through treatment for breast cancer. She will have something
to brighten her days as she faces another week of visits to
the doctor. She will have little happy thoughts and
inspirational thoughts to give her joy and courage. One of
the buckets is for a friend who has had breast cancer for
many years and is presently in a rehabilitation/physical
therapy situation trying to get back on her feet. She will
get inspiration and happy thoughts from the things that go
into her bucket. The last bucket I have made today is for a
friend who is a survivor of breast cancer. This lady is also
a survivor of family problems. She takes each of her new
problems in her stride and continues to give happiness and
love to everyone she meets. She already knows about putting
drops of happiness in someone??™s bucket. This time she will
have her own bucket to fill with many drops of joy,
happiness and inspiration.
In our lives, we do have
those many times of great happiness and those sad times when
we are unhappy and wish for encouragement and words of
comfort. In our lives, we share our happiness with others
and in sad times, friends usually try to be a source of
comfort to those who are in need of that comfort. By sending
little drops of happiness, encouragement and comfort to
those who need it, we gain invisible drops of happiness,
encouragement and comfort for ourselves. We can all give
little love drops to those we know and in doing so, we get
many drops of love from others. God works his miracles in
many ways and by making and giving these buckets, his love
is being shown to others. Since I started this project,
several church groups have begun doing the buckets for
shut-ins from their congregation. God's love is spreading
through simple little buckets full of drops of love.
As the saying goes, "What
goes around, comes around." By doing something for someone
else, it is coming around to us too.
?© Doris B. Fandal
September 28, 2004 |
