Bucket Fillers and Spillers

 By Andrea Merrell

Some friendships don’t last for long,
    but there is one loving friend who is joined to your heart
    closer than any other!

Proverbs 18:24 TPT

 

The friendship was unhealthy. Almost toxic. Even though it happened over thirty years ago, I still remember how our time together drained the life out of me.

Having friends is important, but we need to choose those relationships carefully. If not, we might inadvertently invest too much time and energy into relationships that are not good for our wellbeing.

According to Renew magazine, relationships can easily fall into one of two categories: bucket fillers or bucket spillers.

Bucket fillers are connections we have with friends and family that make us feel loved, encouraged, appreciated, and fulfilled. Bucket spillers are connections that can make us feel unloved, depleted, anxious, and undervalued.

As we get older, we need to give ourselves permission to weed out relationships that don’t enrich our lives. And there’s nothing selfish about doing so. It’s a self-protective measure to keep us from becoming emotionally and mentally drained.

But no matter how good our earthly relationships are, the best way to keep our buckets filled is to spend time with the One who knows us best and loves us most. He will never judge us, betray us, or leave us. He’s the loving friend who is joined to your heart, closer than any other.

(Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net and Aleks Melnik.)

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Are your relationships bucket fillers or bucket spillers? via @AndreaMerrell (Click to tweet.)

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