A Fountain Not a Drain (01/08/2025)

You know how you hear something, and it really hits home? I had one of those moments recently when I was watching a movie with my husband. It was called “The Forge.” It was about a young man’s journey to finding himself through the help of a mentor. The mentor told the young man to be more giving, to be a fountain and not a drain, to give more than he received. I wrote it down on the tablet by my chair. And I’ve visited it and reflected on it several times since then.

What a wonderful image it is, a fountain. I love fountains. I have one on my porch every spring, summer and fall. I love the sound of the water; it refreshes my soul. I recall special fountains in my lifetime such as Trevi Fountain in Rome and the flowing fountain in my sister’s back yard. I could get into being “a fountain.”

I found myself doing a whole page in my current journal on ways to be a fountain: being joyful; being appreciative; encouraging others to use their gifts; giving thanks; affirming others’ goodness; sharing what I have.

I hope you have time this day to join me in considering how to be a fountain. The LORD has given us so very much in grace, in gifts, in our lives. Let us commit to giving, to sharing that which we did not create but that which we are blessed to have. How the world would be, could be so very different if we were all committed to giving from our storehouse of plenty.

I think of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and of his multiplication of the fish and loaves. He took what seemed inadequate, gave thanks for it, and shared it. And it fed the multitudes with leftovers. What if we were to take the grace and gifts we’ve been given, gave thanks to our loving LORD for them, turned them over to the LORD for sacred used, and shared ourselves – our time, our talents, our treasures? I’d like to find out.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.