And, more than once in life, that lesson will come the hard way.
My Wednesdays are typically very busy. I'm usually out the door for my run by 4 a.m. so I can come home and get ready and make the 45-minute drive to work to be there by 7. It's "deadline day" for our television news program where I teach, so the kids are frantically trying to finish their stories, while I watch and approve them all. After work, I make a 45-minute drive to volunteer with a youth running program then hustle off to make another 45-minute drive to get to my small group at my church on time. I enjoy all of these activities, but I'm usually pretty exhausted from the long day and all of the driving by the time I finally make it home.
An important thing to remember when you spend so much time in your car is that it needs gas to get you places.
Seriously, don't forget that.
Last Wednesday, I had already had a pretty chaotic day and then was a little late in leaving to go to my small group, and I tend to stress out a little when I am running late. I knew I needed gas, but I told myself I probably had enough to get me to the church and that I could just fill up on the way home. I had seen the light on, reminding me I was low on fuel, but I chose to ignore it.
Do not ignore that light.
As you've probably predicted at this point, the results of my decisions were not good for me. Not too far into my trek across the metroplex, my car just stopped moving. Apparently that's what happens when there isn't any gas in the tank. I've only run out of gas twice in my life, and both times have happened on highways. The first time was almost 10 years ago, and I had called my brother to come help me. This time, I decided I am old enough to handle such a situation on my own, so I started walking toward the nearest gas station, which was probably about two miles away (that's a solid guess—I didn't start my Garmin).
Had I stopped for gas, I would have been a little bit late to my small group. Instead, I missed it entirely and got to learn a lesson for which I really wasn't in the mood. I mean, who really wants to be reminded of how her irresponsibility came back to bite her in the butt?
Sometimes we get going so fast in life and get caught up in our own plans that we forget the little details that are actually quite significant. If you don't fill your tank with gas, you could find yourself walking to a gas station on a Wednesday evening; if you are trying to maintain a garden but don't water your plants, they will likely die; if you don't set your alarm, you might sleep through your morning meeting; if you forget your spouse's birthday or an anniversary, you might be sleeping on the couch; if you don't take your dog out before you go to bed, you might be cleaning up a mess in the morning; if you don't do your homework or study for a test, you might fail; if you try to put together IKEA furniture without looking at the picture instructions, you might end up with some backward home decor; if you don't show people love, they may never know Jesus.
The little things can be huge.
Just like a car needs to be filled with fuel to run and take you places, we need to be filling ourselves with enough to get us through the daily opportunities we face in life. While food and sleep are obvious staples, we also need to fill our hearts with love so that we can give it off to others. And it's hard to do that when you're running on empty.
And the best part is love is free, so you can keep filling up with as much as you want.
Definitely don't ignore that.
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