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Filling Our Jars
In today’s busy, busy world, there never seems to be enough time to fit everything in. We often find ourselves cutting corners or leaving something by the wayside. Here is a favorite story that reminds us that we can fit everything in, if we do it the right way.
A teacher stood in front of her class with several items on the table. She filled a large jar with rocks and asked the class, “Is the jar full?” The class quickly replied, “Yes!” She then picked up a bag of pebbles and began pouring them into the jar. She gently shook the jar and the pebbles settled between the rocks. “Now is it full?” The class again answered, “Yes!” Slowly, she picked up a cup of sand and poured it over the rocks and pebbles. “How about now? Is the jar full?” The students were beginning to catch on and answered, “I don’t know, maybe?” Finally, the teacher added water to the jar. What seemed to be very full, suddenly had nooks and crannies where the water settled. The teacher asked if it were full, and finally the answer is, “Yes.”
Then, the teacher posed the question, “What would have happened if I had filled it with water and sand first? Would the rocks and pebbles fit?” No, they would not. There would not be any place for the rocks and pebbles to go without overflowing the jar.
What’s the point of this story? The jar represents our lives, and we need to fill our life jars with the important things first: family, school, faith. These are our rocks, our values. The smaller things come next, and finally the sand and water are the fillers like TV, video games, phones, etc. It bears to mind to occasionally take a close look at our jars and make sure we are filling them with the important priorities first.
We invite you to talk with your grandchildren about what is important to you and listen to what is important to them. No matter the distance, grandparents have a special opportunity to influence their grandchildren and help ensure that their rocks are firmly in place before the pebbles, sand, and water.
Holy Comforter Episcopal School is a top-rated private, Episcopal, coed school for PreK-8th Grade students located in Tallahassee, Florida.
