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Buckets

If you are like me, you're plunging into the week today like an 18th century firefighter, a full bucket in each hand, running full speed ahead, using every ounce of strength, concentration and determination you can muster to keep from sloshing out any of the precious contents, or, worse yet, tripping and toppling, losing them all.
One bucket is full of obligations -- the other, your passion, your mission, and the desires of your heart. Both are filled to the brim, heaving under the insufficient handles of good intentions -- handles that creak, slip, and blister your hands as you fight their heavy sway to hold them tightly.
How can you possibly chase your dreams in such a precarious, painful state?
Jesus made it a point to tell us to cast our cares on Him, because He cares for us. We do it, alright, but then we pick them up again.
God pleads with us to find rest in Him, and we say, OK, just for a moment...you sit down, carefully easing your buckets to the floor. You look around and notice the pains He has taken to entice you to stay: the feast, the refreshment, the comfort and security. Perched on the edge of your seat, you take one deep breath...then jump back to your feet, exclaiming "Goodness, will you just look at the time?!" Gathering up all your burdens, you head back out the door, out of His presence...making sure you haven't forgotten your phone, your notebook, your buckets -- but you've forgotten the special gift He set out for you, in plain sight, clearly labeled, ribboned, bejeweled, everything to make it attractive -- it was PEACE.
Don't forget to find your PEACE in His presence today. Of all the things we chase, it's one of the things the word specifically directs us to pursue.(Psalm 34:14) It's the one thing that will certainly give you the agility to carry those buckets, the heart to bear them, and the wisdom to know when to put them down so you don't fall over them.
Jesus personally suffered in our place -- physically, emotionally, even spiritually-- just because He loved us, and wanted, more than anything, to carry the load for us. Sit down for a moment, step out of the crazy bucket brigade and into a quiet place. Make yourself rest in Him. Listen to His offer, stay for awhile in His presence, and accept the gift. 
“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid." -- John 14:27


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