Well, it happened again....I ran out of gas. As a youngster, that happened to me only a few times. Lets be honest, a few times is a few times too many. Now as an adult, to me, that's just silly to run out of gas. Yet I did it again. You know how you get your gas on Sunday that's to last you the whole week. By Friday when you pull into your garage, or parking space, you are parking for the weekend. I had an errand to run and I said to myself, errand first, gas second. To my misfortune when I pulled up to the errand, the car ran out of gas. What makes it even more crazy is I passed at least two gas stations to get to the place and there was another on the corner next to where I was. Here I go walking to the station, purchasing a can and some gas, to walk back to my truck to fill it up. The only cans they had were 1 gallon. So, it would take quite a few trips to get my truck where it needed to be. After two tries, I was over it and I called for Roadside Assistance. They came, all was made well, and I'm here again saying I will never do that again.
While going through my journey, the question rose, why do I keep riding on E? Its so much that can happen doing it that way and then my thoughts dug a little deeper to my life. If you're like me, you have also tried your hand at riding on E, in life that is. I thought of 4 things that we do when we are riding on E. First we EXCEED...I exceeded the limit on my truck until my truck said no more. How many times have you exceeded yourself, your body, your time, your relationships until you end up at the place called NO MORE. Things you should have been ended or addressed and yet you let them keep going and going until it, or you, crash and fail. I think of my favorite show Dr. Pimple Popper. Majority of the people that come on that show have dealt with their issue for way too long, in my book. The point that they are, when they come to the show, is over and done. They want help ASAP. Many times when we go to God, with our issues, we are over and done. We are coming with a 911 page. Question is, when are you going to get to the place where you are going to stop riding on that E? So it seems the relationship isn't working out. Have you considered that's not the one and the right one is trying to get to you? I know you've been friends for a long time but have you considered the time with them is up? The season is over? We exceed until we are in pain. Then we decide to get out. Why? This leads me to my next one...EXCUSES. Each time I have been in the no gas situation, I had a reason for why it happened. Ultimately the true answer, no matter what I say otherwise, is my negligence. Stop trying to make excuses for the different areas in your life. The greatest way to face anything is with accountability and honesty. No you had no hand in how they treated you but you do have a hand in how you respond. Stop making excuses for holding on to hurt. When my finances was out of wack, I had to take responsibility that I may not be a good steward. Most times that was the case. Being honest with yourself allows you to see things honestly. In turn you will eliminate this next E....EXHAUSTED. This one is pretty self explanatory. Me trying to fill the truck with that one gallon can left me exhausted. I have a 16 gallon tank, I believe I was told. Do you know how many trips that would have taken just to get it started. After a couple of times, I said call for help. While help was there, if I had just done the right thing in the first place, I wouldn't be exhausted right now. Mentally we find ourselves exhausted because we exceed and make excuses. While the help of our Father is there, we make that our crutch instead of our call when we really need a way of escape. I was tired, light headed from the fumes and late for my service. Oh and it gets better. It came with an EXPENSE (next E). I told you I had to buy a gas can, gas, but what I left out is the Uber I needed to call, to help me resolve my situation. Now it required more than I expected. When you think back on certain situations of your life, it seemed to cost you more than you realized. I can think of a situation where I was told to let someone go. I was warned it would be destructive, but I made excuses, in not doing it at that time. Just as I was warned, it turned out to be destructive. Other people got hurt, my ministry took a hit, my family got hurt, people they knew got hurt, and the list goes on. Internally I didn't make the move because I didn't want to hurt them and, I think deep inside, I still felt I needed them. My confidence was on E. When it was all said and done, the one I thought I needed, I really didn't. Not in a bad way. Just our seasons were over. Now it ended on a bad note instead of the positive that it could. But I was riding on E (excuses). It cost me more to get my truck back to where it needed to be. In reflection, my life has had to take hits that it didn't need to take. If you think about you, your life has taken some hits it didn't need to take. I didn't say everything. I said some things. It was an expense I didn't need to have. Let me end this. Can I tell how you EXCITED (one more E) I was to get my truck back on track? I clapped and smiled when I got it started and to my home. The question I had to ask myself was, are you excited enough to not do this again? Is this enough for you to never go back? If honest, at the moment the answer was yes. To keep that yes, I know I have to work for it. It's going to take a mind shift. We fall subject to things at times because we fail to see, oh this is going to take some work and dedication. It takes work to not answer that phone when they call. Especially if you won't block them. Shucks, that takes work in itself. It takes work to not let them back in after you forgive. It takes work to not go back to a place when you've worked so hard to get out. Yes it took a lot to get out but sometimes it takes even more to not go back in. That's why you have to be honest with you. Like I said honest with you will let you be honest about it. I want you to take some time and be honest with you. In one of the greatest seasons of your life, ask yourself, what are some areas I need to work on in me? It would be a shame to miss God, and all that He has for you, stuck on the side of the road of life, because you keep riding on E.