Be a sieve, not a cup.

I was driving the other day, thinking about seeing humanity through God's eyes.

(You know, light and breezy thoughts like that.)

I was thinking how He sees all of our hurts, all of our striving, all of the desires of our hearts.

I was thinking about how much easier it is to care about someone when we know what makes them tick, what makes them ache, what they've wanted that's been denied, what they're hoping for tomorrow.

I was thinking that must be how He can love us so much - He sees and hears it all perfectly, with no miscommunication or confusion, none of the limits of human interaction, no subterfuge or hidden agendas. Just our pure hearts, good and bad, dark and light. He knows why we do what we do.

I thought about the intensity of my children's needs. How they are bottomless pits, how they crave my time and attention and love, and how overwhelming that can be sometimes.

So I thought, God, how can I ever see it how you see it? How can I ever stand it if I open myself up to seeing others' pain at even a fraction of the level you see? How can I help anyone? How can I handle it, when I can't watch the news without crying most days?

Then it came to me...

"Be a sieve, not a cup.

(Image credit: sxc.hu user greyman)

You can't hold all of other people's hurts.You can't take on your husband's hurts, you can't take on your children's hurts, or anyone else's in this world, and make them your own. Likewise, you can't capture and hold their dreams for safekeeping.

You have limited capacity. You can barely manage your own 'stuff!'

That doesn't mean you close yourself off and you don't try, because it's too hard. And it doesn't mean you let yourself be overwhelmed again and again, filled up until you can't take anymore and you make a big mess.

Be a sieve, not a cup.

Don't try to hold it all, just let it pass through you. But let it pass through you imbued with love, made purer, made better in some infinitesimal way.

That's the best you can do."