Fountains

During most of my upbringing, Brisbane was in a constant state of drought. Grass was perpetually brown, garden hoses were teasing reminders of glorious days now gone; and children's heads weren't filled with nursery rhymes, but rather with the stinging, nagging tunes of "TURN THE TAP OFF WHILE YOU BRUSH YOUR TEETH!!!" Think about it, until the drought was broken, there was a whole generation of children who did not know that a fountain could look like anything other than this:

Imagine, there was a whole generation of children who would have only seen moldy  giant, concrete things scattered all over the place. 

Here's where I connect the abstract image to an actual realisation about life: there are "drought times" in my life where I have been like the empty fountain, not fulfilling my role, empty and taking up too much room. Those "drought times" are the times when I have been too passive to care, too lazy to move, too reactive to make an impact. A fountain is meant to be full to overflowing: the way water shoots up into the air, cascades over edges - it's glorious. An empty fountain is pitiful.

My life is meant to be the "full fountain". Does that mean I need to do as many things as I can possibly do? Not necessarily, I think to "be full" is to push myself. I could sit here behind my computer all day typing blogs, or I could get out there and meet young men who want to be priests; I could settle with the one unit I'm doing at uni or I could push myself to expand my mind. It's easy for me to hear others tell me I have potential...but how often do I actually use that potential?

I guess what I'm getting at here is that there are times in my life when I'm an empty fountain, or even just a half-full, barely pumping fountain. The problem with living to our full potential is that is frigging hard!!! It's hard because it challenges us to be accountable to God for the gifts he's created us with. Right now for me that means working harder than I ever have before, and I don't know how much that will affect my beloved leisure time.

Here's the crunch though: a fountain has no say in if it's full or not. I do have a choice to embrace more, to live a full-to-overflowing life. It'll take prayer and mentoring and discernment; but God has placed a calling on my life (and yours): I came that they may have life and have it to the FULL (Jn 10:10).