I have always loved to walk along the seashore, collecting bits of treasure, odd pieces of driftwood, pretty shells, shiny stones that glitter at the water’s edge. It is easy to fill a pail with many things. You must choose wisely, because you can only bring home so many gifts from the sea. There are times when you stoop to pick up an item, but it is not what it first appeared; you may toss the clamshell or ragged stone back into the ocean. (Some things need more time in the sea to become polished; the rough edges will become softer with time.) Other times, you may pause in your journey and take a look back. There in plain sight, is the most beautiful shell you could ever imagine. You almost passed it by, but a backward glance brought this magnificent shell to your attention. Funny in life, how we sometimes let the most wonderful stuff pass us by because we are focused on something else. We are looking for certain things, but the most important thing of all is right there in front of us.
As you search and wander, there is so much to see in the world around you. It is like a real-life painting with sand and sea, a world that is scoured clean in the brilliant sunshine. You bathe in the sunlight and let the water rush across your bare feet. It is good to be alive. It is good to feel the wind in your hair.
At some point, you realize that your bucket is full and is growing heavy. You have collected enough treasure for one day! Later, you can sort through it all, making a final decision on what to keep and what to throw away.
In life, we are given a ‘bucket’ each morning, and there are only so many hours of the day in which to fill it. We have our hopes and our dreams, our daily goals, our prayers that we whisper in the early hours of the morning. All of this goes into the bucket. If we are wise, we do not overfill the bucket at dawn’s first light with all our fears and worries. If we do, the bucket grows heavy immediately, and there is not much room for anything else.
The shoreline of life is lovely despite the very sad things that exist alongside it. We can pray and do our best, but besides that, we must give the sad and bad things over to God. We must trust His mercy and grace. Most importantly, we must trust Him to carry our bucket with us throughout the day. Each and every day there will be tough decisions. What should we keep in our bucket that is good for us? What item did we pick up that is causing us much harm? Only through prayer can we make good decisions. Only with prayer can our bucket remain full of good and pure things.
And that is what our Heavenly Father wants for all of His children; He wants us to have peace, hope, and love in our lives. It begins at daybreak when the birds begin to wake up and sing. God wants us to notice the peach-tinged sky. He knows that bird song is a cure for many an ill. Early in the morning is when we must ask God to bless the moments of our day; this is when we start filling our pails with His blessings of guidance and the peace that only God can give.
The peachy sky of morning is like a fresh peach, full of sweetness; so too, are the plans God has for His children. He wants good fruits for us to eat. He likes for His kids to plan a picnic lunch from time to time beneath the open sky. God loves for His children to enjoy some quietude in His marvelous creation. He knows that the world can be an anxious place.
God never meant for us to carry our buckets all alone. He has promised to abide with us and stay at our side day in and day out. He has promised us everlasting treasure… a heavenly home when our wandering days beside the sea have come to an end. If we are honest with ourselves, we realize that that our worst days and times are when we try to go it alone, to manage the daily bucket without God’s aid. That is when we get into trouble and the shoreline looks pretty scary.
At the end of the day, when we are weary, and it is time to set down our bucket, we end the day as it began. We pray and give thanks for the blessings that have spilled into our pail of thanksgiving. Without a doubt, we might have picked up some items that are not the best for us. Now, in the evening before we fall asleep, we let go of those nagging problems we cannot solve. We pray over those broken pieces in our bucket that will need attention. (We let go of those items that we should not have picked up in the first place.)
God is there in our midst, blessing us and our buckets. His grace does cover a multitude of sins. Like a good Father, He reminds us of how much He loves us. He appreciates our labor of love in the world; every drop in the bucket counts.
Another day comes to an end. God has painted the sky with billions of stars. The shoreline at night glitters and bedazzles us. We sleep peacefully. Come morning, we start again at daybreak…our buckets ready for a new day. Who knows what we will find along that shoreline? The sea will surely leave more gifts behind while we are sleeping.
When we awake, we know that the sea birds are already soaring in the sky, gracing the world with their beauty. Surely, there is treasure wherever we look on the sandy shore. Yet, be it morning or night, the best treasure is within our very souls; it is there that God does His most magnificent work. Starlight cannot compete with God’s own light. His love outshines anything in all of the universe. We are His handiwork. We are His children, shining stars that He loves without end.
It is a beautiful shoreline. We could not ask for anything more. Our buckets overflow with blessings…too much to hold within our hearts. And so, we share the blessings with others…close to home, and far away.
Deuteronomy 31: 8: “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not forsake you. Do not be dismayed.”
Beautiful thoughts and beautiful pictures. I love the shorelines too, and getting my feet soaked in warm sand. Lake Huron in Port Sanilac, Michigan is where I’ve done this so many times. And yes, my soul (bucket) gets full of God’s glory there.
Such a wonderful comment! Thank you for sharing your thoughts…We learn so much on those sandy walks. I always feel small when I stand beside the ocean. I also feel loved, because I know wherever I roam, even beside an awesome sea, God is there with me.
I adore the picture of starting each day with an empty bucket. I will definitely be more thoughtful about how I spend my time & energy! 🪣
When I was a child, I was absolutely delighted with beach outings and my beach pail! It is a nice way of looking at how we spend our time…dropping happy things into our pail. Children have so much enthusiasm collecting treasures on nature walks. In our daily walk, God has much to teach us, much to share with us.
Agreed
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I had to mull over my bucket for awhile Linda. My weakness has always been allowing those around me to fill my bucket with their stuff. It’s very helpful to allow God first dibs each morning.
The shore sure sounds good as I’m reading this from a snowbank (thankfully melting). Our kids grew up visiting a beach each February someplace way south of us. I do miss those times.
I can relate to what you have said about other people’s stuff filling up our buckets! I almost mentioned that in this post, but then that could be another post altogether. Yes, we must set boundaries with our buckets. It seems the impossible task at times! In the end, the most important thing is to ask God to bless our buckets, crowded as they may be with a great many things. Somehow, He knows how to manage the contents…
I particularly appreciate your use of metaphor in this beautiful reflection.
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a great metaphor, and such calming pics Linda … a delightful reflection to refresh us all thanks!
Calm is good right now! 🙂 Sometimes, just looking at photographs of nature is such a wonderful thing!
exactly, it’s what we all need, thanks Linda!
🙂 🙂 🙂
Lovely and true. Reminds me of the opening lines of a prayer by St. Agustine which has been coming to me of late ~ Remember, Christian soul, that thou hast this day,
and every day of thy life…
Yes! Thank you for sharing that prayer! These are words to press upon our hearts lest we forget.
Beautiful sentiments and quote and reminders to walk the shoreline of each day filling a bucket with joy and love and kindness. xo
Our buckets seem to get full quickly! Sometimes, we forget that we do have choices…The more good things we add to our bucket, the easier it is to carry the heavy stuff. 🙂
A wonderful reflection, Linda. I especially appreciated the idea that we are given a “bucket” every morning. I have my bucket and I am enjoying filling it to overflowing. Sending many thanks!
You are a wise woman…your bucket is full of gratitude. Gratitude is the one thing that changes everything!
A lovely reflection, Linda, and your photos are beautiful. I love the reminder from Deuteronomy 31:8 also. God Bless!
Wishing you blessings as well! 🙂
Walking along the shoreline is one of my favorite things to do…both restorative and energizing.😊
You are so right! The sea calls to us in such a wondrous way. It is exactly as John Masefield depicts in his poem, ‘Sea-Fever’. It is an irresistible thing! 🙂
Linda, I enjoyed the walk along the shore filling buckets with sea treasures to the peachy morning skies filling the heart with the Lord’s blessings for the day. I have a box in the basement that overflows with the pebbles and shells our girls have collected over the years. I think this may be the year we take that box of treasures back to our beloved sea shore and return them for others to find.
What a beautiful idea, to bring those lovely treasures back to the beach. This is why I so love blogging. There are people like you who grace the blogging world with your gems of wisdom. Your children are blessed to have you as their mother…so much love and kindness in your heart!
Linda, your writing is so lovely. But so is the heart you show us in your writing.
Thank you! 🙂 I hope you are having a good morning. Spring is unfolding in starts and stops, sun and clouds, summer-like days, and nights when the temps drop below freezing. It is the time of year to open our hearts to new dreams and new beginnings.
As much as I like the analogy of the bucket for the way we fill our days (you’re right, if we fill our bucket with worries and stress, there’s no room for anything good), I like the theology of this post even more. Too often, I have heard the opinion that if you believe in God, he will protect you from bad things. And then when bad things do happen, the person feels as if God has abandoned them, and they often abandon their faith. I believe what you said so beautifully: our faith means God is with us in our times of trial and sorrow, not that they won’t ever happen. And I also believe that with God’s help, it’s amazing what we can endure and the joy we can find even in the darkest times. Thanks for this post, as you can tell, it spoke to me!
I often think of the lines of scripture that remind us of the seasons of life. (Ecclesiastes 3: 1-5.) There are times of dancing and times of weeping. Knowing that our Heavenly Father abides with us through all times and seasons, does bring us joy. We are never left alone and bereft. In the darkest of times, He is there with us, ever-faithful, ever our comforter.
Amen!
Wonderful post and metaphor, Linda! I love these photos too.
Thank you! In my corner of the world, it is a soggy day. But as the Irish say, a rainy day is a soft day. A misty shoreline can be lovely indeed, and we do need the rain for all that lush spring greenery.
Hi, Linda, you paint such a lovely picture with your words, making you a teacher of the best kind. Thank you for sharing your love of Nature & humanity. Wishing you a blessed week, my friend! 🌞
Wishing you blessings as well! 🙂 Thank you for such a nice comment! On a rainy March morning, you are a bright ray of sunshine.
🙏🙏🙏
What a beautiful metaphor you created from a day of beach combing! You’ve made me realize that my gratitude journal and “God Is Faithful” journal (a record of God’s provision, protection, engineering of events, etc. in our family) serve as my buckets for collecting the beautiful things God places on our shore–shimmering evidence of God’s love, power, generosity, and more. Thank you, Linda!
It is a wonderful thing to keep a gratitude journal! (We always think that we will remember everything in detail without writing it down.) I love the idea of your ‘God is faithful’ journal. Your faith stories will ‘shimmer’ and ‘shine’ for generations to come. What a wonderful legacy to pass down to your children and grandchildren.
Thank you, Linda. I suppose I should type up all 1400+ (and still counting!) entries in order that each of our grandchildren can access it, if they wish!
Perhaps, you could choose a few excerpts from all of that text! 🙂 My children have been so absorbed in our family history since the passing of my mother in January. My children want to keep everything that belonged to Grandma! It is very sweet. We have saved quite a few letters and photos she stored in boxes from a few generations before her time! Reading her own letters, post cards, and diaries has been a lovely thing.
THAT is a great idea, LInda, to type up the most miraculous, especially those that involved our children. Thank you for your great suggestion!
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What a beautiful metaphor, Linda. It’s such a lovely way to think about what we choose to pick up and choose to keep. Something to think about as I meander through my days. <3
Our days are full of so many blessings! Sometimes, we miss the extravagant gifts in our midst because our focus is solely on carrying the heavy stuff in our buckets. This does not mean that we should abandon our responsibilities. We may inadvertently be carrying something we should never have picked up in the first place. We may have to shift some of the items around so we can distribute the weight better. We might find that there is still plenty of room to collect some beautiful beach treasure each and every day! 🙂
🙂 <3
Such a wonderful and beautiful post. Thank you so much for sharing.
“Early in the morning is when we must ask God to bless the moments of our day; this is when we start filling our pails with His blessings of guidance and the peace that only God can give.”
I love this so much.
Clem x
http://www.clemloves.co.uk
I am glad that you enjoyed it! It makes such a difference in how we start our day. All day long, we make choices about how we spend our time. Early morning prayer helps to guide our daily experiences.
Walking on the beach is a special type of magic that fills the soul and brings peace. We do need to find this beauty in each day/life. Lovely writing, Linda.
A walk on the beach is magical! The natural world is such a gift…so much beauty all around us day in and day out. Much in the world may make us weary; a walk in the woods or beside the sea restores us, helps us see things more clearly.
Yes, I agree.
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Wonderful analogy with the “bucket” concept. Our life journey resembles walking along a distant shoreline . . . discovering the blessings the Lord holds for us.
That is a very insightful comment! Thank you for sharing your thoughts. 🙂 I hope you had a wonderful Easter!