Pouring Back What Was Poured Into Me
Finding purpose in paying forward the kindness and support that shaped your own journey.
Pouring Back What Was Poured Into Me
When I think about my life, I know I did not get to where I am by myself.
There have been people who encouraged me, prayed for me, helped me, gave me information, connected me to resources, and sometimes just listened when I needed somebody to listen.
I have also been through things in my own life that taught me a lot. Some things I understood right away, and some things I did not understand until much later. But one thing I have learned is that when somebody pours something good into you, you should not just keep it to yourself.
You should be willing to pour something back into somebody else.
That is really what this means to me.
I have benefited from support, community resources, people believing in me, and people giving me opportunities. I have had people help me get through things that I probably would have had a much harder time getting through alone.
Because of that, I try to do the same for other people when I can.
Sometimes that may mean sharing a resource with somebody. Sometimes it may mean encouraging somebody who is going through a hard time. Sometimes it may mean listening. Sometimes it may mean telling somebody about something that helped me.
It does not always have to be something big.
I think sometimes we believe helping people has to look like this huge thing, but it really does not. A phone call can help somebody. A text message can help somebody. Telling somebody about a program or resource can help them. Just letting somebody know that you have not forgotten about them can mean a lot.
And I think that is especially important because we really do not know what people are dealing with.
People can look okay and still be going through something.
People can be working, taking care of their families, going to church, smiling, and doing everything they normally do while still needing somebody to pour into them, too.
I know that because there have been times when I needed it.
That is also why I believe our lived experiences can be useful. I do not mean that we have to tell everybody everything we have been through. Some things are personal. But sometimes what you have learned can help somebody else.
Sometimes you can say, “I have been through something similar,” or, “This is what helped me,” and it lets that person know they are not the only one.
I think about that a lot.
There are people who poured into me without even realizing how much what they did mattered. Some probably do not even remember it. But I remember.
And because I remember, I want to be that person for somebody else.
I do not have all the answers, and I cannot help everybody. None of us can.
But I can do what I can.
I can encourage somebody.
I can share what I know.
I can point somebody toward a resource.
I can listen.
I can pray.
I can show kindness.
And sometimes, that may be exactly what somebody needs at that moment.
For me, pouring back what was poured into me is really just about not forgetting.
Not forgetting the people who helped me.
Not forgetting the resources that helped me.
Not forgetting the doors that opened for me.
And not forgetting that somebody else may need the same kind of support that I once needed.
If something good was poured into me, I want to make sure some of it gets poured back out.
