Do you ever think you’re doing pretty well and growing, and then something unexpected happens that makes you feel you’ve taken several steps back? That happened to me once (well, more than once, but we’ll talk about this one time)…
I was helping lead a trip overseas that brought on significantly more stress than normal. I was doing pretty well at making everyone think I was okay, that is, until I wasn’t. And once we got to that point, I essentially became a person that I didn’t like very much. My stick of patience was very short with others, I felt like I was walking on egg shells around myself to stay sane, and honestly speaking, it was just a mess.
Not long after returning home I came across this post by a friend on Facebook that challenged me…
What’s in Your Cup?
You are holding a cup of coffee when someone comes along and bumps into you or shakes your arm, making you spill your coffee everywhere.
Why did you spill the coffee?
“Well because someone bumped into me, of course!”
Wrong answer.
You spilled the coffee because there was coffee in your cup.
Had there been tea in the cup, you would have spilled tea.
*Whatever is inside the cup… is what will spill out.*
Therefore, when life comes along and shakes you (which WILL happen), whatever is inside you will come out. It’s easy to fake it, until you get rattled.
So we have to ask ourselves, “What’s in my cup?”
When life gets tough, what spills over?
Joy, gratefulness, peace and humility?
Or anger, bitterness, harsh words and reactions?
Sometimes, we really do take steps backward, but we can be grateful even in those moments. Matthew 15:18 says that what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and even those moments of seeing what’s really in our cup is evidence of a loving God showing us our continued brokenness and need for a Savior. What’s in your cup today? This season?
Athlete, you know that “the daily grind” of being a student-athlete is a rollercoaster of ups and downs, twists and turns, and all the emotions. I encourage you to be rooted in Christ and Spirit-filled community, and as the season continues and you walk with Jesus, let Him fill your cup along the way.
So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:17-19
Challenge:
Think about what’s in your cup right now. Be honest with God, and dive into the Word today. Fill your cup with His joy and love. And then tell someone about it. We weren’t meant to do life alone.
Song for Reflection:
Written by: Bonnie Durrett
Bonnie is on staff with Athletes in Action Women’s Basketball in Ohio.
- Three simple joys
- Black coffee, all day
- My dog Gracie
- Learning
- Two hobbies
- Crossfit
- Traveling
- Favorite verse or passage
- But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
