The summer prior to my senior year in college I was prepared to make a trek from Montgomery, Alabama to Enid, Oklahoma where my parents lived at that time. My mother helped me prepare to make the trip by sending me cash and a Shell gas credit card. While cash is a staple item for every college student, by comparison a gas credit card is the Holy Grail. Better yet was the knowledge that I was traveling into oil country. There was no real need for concern because I had all I needed. A couple of days before my departure I made good use of the cash. Yes, it was a great night out on the town. Up at the crack of dawn I loaded my tired body along with all my possessions. Included were the necessary provisions to support life such as a Godfather’s pizza. What a beautiful day as I went through Tuscaloosa, Al., Aberdeen, Miss., and Tupelo, Miss. Northern Mississippi left me awe struck. Memphis was just around the corner from Oxford, Miss. Soon I would cross the mighty Mississippi River only to be mesmerized by the rice fields of East Arkansas. Everything was perfect. All the while during the trip stops had been made to purchase coffee or other beverages without much thought of conserving the remaining cash supply. Just outside of Little Rock I looked down at the gas gauge which edged closer and closer to the letter “E”. No problem since I had a gas credit card at my disposal. Funny thing about oil country, not many people live there. As a result, demand for gas stations where the people are not is very low. Using my last $10 for gas I saw a sign for a toll road to Muskogee, Ok. After paying the toll to get on the road my priority was to find a gas station, particularly Shell. Did you know not one Shell gas station was seen from I-40 and the toll road from Memphis to Muskogee? Upon reaching Muskogee I was out of cash and gas. If that wasn’t bad enough I then had to make a collect call (this was there era prior to cell phones). If only I had been more aware of my situation? Only when I was in trouble did I call out for help.
We tend to approach our faith life in much the same way. When everything in life is going well the world is a beautiful place that takes our breath away. Most of us cruise through life with little thought to what God has given us only to find we have squandered away a valuable gift. Then in a panic we search for a gas station (i.e. church). When nothing we want can be found we franticly seek alternate routes only to find the situation is made even worse. Wounded is our pride when we reach out for Jesus because we need help. If only we had realized that we needed help from the very start. If only we had listened to God from the very beginning the problems we are experiencing may not even exist.
Our journey starts now. Yes, it just so happens we reserve Ash Wednesday as the day to kick off the Lenten season. We should be engaged in such a journey all year long as we are intentional about recognizing our limitations and the need for help. This is help which can only be given by Jesus Christ. By opting for a way to the Father apart from the Son will find a journey falling short of its destination as our faith runs out of fuel. Lent is a time for self examination that hopefully points us to the one who has all we need for our journey. During this period of examination we need to ask ourselves what stands in between us and our destination. Will we trust Jesus to prepare us for our journey? Jesus has already made the journey and prepared the way for us. All we really need to do is trust in Christ to guide us through the wilderness.
Since that journey to Oklahoma I have never used a Shell gas station again nor will I. Also with the utmost confidence I will venture a guess by saying you will not find a Shell station in heaven.
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