Fill My Jar

Creative Jars –

What are Creative Jars?
How can we create a jar that is unique?
What does the perfect jar look like?

This term if you will came to me the other night, there I was lying in bed, unable to sleep, with my mind racing. This is when I decided to do what any logical person would do and I googled, “creative jars.”

It’s funny this image search for “Creative Jar” and it populated so many different jars that you could spend hours looking at jars. Jars of all shapes, sizes, and colors. Jars with large openings, some with small openings, some completely closed, and some that are open / close optional. The best part is that not one is better than the other, and none of them can really be compared. The fact is that these jars are all unique and beautiful in there own right. They all have a purpose! Depending on your needs will depend on what type or kind of jar you will purchase.

As awesome as this search was I wasn’t exactly thinking of “jars” in the sense of glass containers used to hold different items or to look pretty. I wasn’t exactly sure what I was looking for, but this wasn’t it. I decided to do a little praying… I prayed for understanding and clarity on what this “creative jars” phrase was supposed to mean to me. After my conversation with good Lord, I went back to bed and fell asleep right quick.

I woke up with this clarity over all of this. I knew what this phrase meant and how it applied to me and our lives, and how I could use this as a way to explain life. We as a people are jars. We all start out as empty jars- with large openings waiting to be filled. We are jars that come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. We are jars that have a purpose.

As a babies we are clear and completely open jars waiting to be filled with warm embraces, waiting to be colored with experiences, we are jars waiting to be filled with knowledge and everything in between. As we grow our jars start to slowly fill up, depending on the people, places, things, and choices that we make, will determine how our jar or ourselves appears to the world around us. As our jars start to fill up completely we start to fill other peoples jars around us. We might pour over into our children, friends, family, and/or complete strangers. What are you pouring into the people around you? Who and what are you allowing to pour into you?

The best part about being a jar is that you can always start over, you can change whats in the jar at any time with a little work. No matter what your jar is filled with it can be changed. It doesn’t matter what experiences, preconceived notions, negative thoughts, ideas, or learned behaviors; it doesn’t matter what stereotype or lack there of… You have the power to empty yourself out. You have the power to cleanse your jar! You have the power to fill your jar with anything you allow to be put into your jar.

You have the power to pour into the people around you and yourself in the way that you want to be poured into. Start pouring positive thoughts, love, and understanding into your jar. Today is a new day. What will you decide to pour into others? What will you decide allow to get poured into your jar? Be unique! Be colorful! Be creative! You are in charge!

I know all to well the days that drag on and we end up unable to pour anything into anyone because we just feel drained! Ahhh this has been me since the move back to Indiana. I have been struggling with my identity, struggling with old man winter not wanting to retreat, struggling finding my voice. I feel like I’m at a cross roads in life trying to figure out how to unveil my jar.

Over the last 3 years I would say that I have strained my jar getting rid of most things that I used to feel were important, I have realized that it doesn’t matter how great I decorate my jar or what I put into my jar there will be people that I will never be able to please. There will be people that will never take the time to get to know me and what I’m about. The best part about this is that’s okay! I’ll repeat this – THAT IS OKAY! We are not meant to befriend everyone, we are not meant to have “close relationships” with everything. Also, understand this there is no normal. Every family is different, every friendship is different, and every encounter is oddly different. I know that media likes to paint a picture of what normal is, and that’s okay- after all freedom of speech is a beautiful thing, but the truth is that titles are earned! Just because you are born into a family doesn’t mean that you automatically have loyalties to that family. I hear and see it all the time: Well, it’s my “family’ This doesn’t mean that they get to hurt you in anyway. I would say to continue to pray for that individual, forgive that individual (only to help you to move on). Get rid of your preconceived notion of what “family” looks like. It’s not just a blood line. Family are the people that choose to be there. Family are the people that show up, the people that choose to know you and accept you. Family are people that want to see you succeed.