Fuel

The photo on my monitor at work is of an S-3 Viking, the last plane I flew when
I was in the Navy. The photo shows it right after it was launched by the
carrier’s catapult. The wheels have not been retracted yet. It is full of fuel, a
crew of four, and heading out on its mission. This particular plane is
configured to refuel other aircraft in the air.

As a pilot, I can honestly tell you there is nothing more useless than altitude
above you and air in the fuel tanks. The more you have of the former means
you are closer to the surface of the water or land. The more you have of the
latter means you are getting closer to the point when it is all air and no fuel.
That’s when the aircraft becomes a pretty, streamlined rock.

That initial picture of the takeoff is like the start of our lives. We start out all full
of dreams and goals and the promise of good things in the future. At the start,
it is our parents who have those things for us. When we have matured, they
become an active part of us. They may be the same ones our parents had for
us or totally our own. It is as if we have landed from our mission of growing up
and have now taken off on our mission of being an adult.

How high can we go, how fast? Part of the answer is our natural abilities, part
training, part drive or ambition, and part of the goals we have set. That’s like
the various parts that make up that plane, all coming together to make up the whole.
How about fuel? That is the special part because it is God’s love and grace.                                      The wonderful thing about it is the supply is unlimited.

It is what we do with God’s fuel that determines our lives and where we
ultimately land. There are many who follow God’s flight plan and when it
comes time for that final landing, he is there to welcome us home.

Most of us sometimes run into foul weather when life turns against us. We let
the fuel level drop and struggle trying to get out of the storm ourselves,
blaming God for the problems and perhaps even turning away from him.
Some people turn that around and refuel themselves with what God has to
offer. Sadly, some do not and they turn away, refusing to allow God’s love to
fuel their lives. When they allow that fuel tank to totally run dry, then they
crash and burn and the fire is unending.

What kind of life are you flying? When life turns bad and your fuel level runs
low, do you turn back to God to be refueled? The supply is limitless, you can
refuel as often as you like. The only cost is to love God and follow his plan.
Or, sadly, are you headed for dry tanks and that fatal crash? If the latter
describes you, then reverse course and refill your tanks. God is waiting to
welcome you to his home. It is, however, your choice.

Choose!

Running In Place

Back in my high school days, we had gym class to go with all of the scholastic
classes. We did a wide variety of things and activities but every once in a
while the coach would decide we needed to exercise. One of those exercises
was running in place. While our arms and legs were pumping as if we were
running, we did not go anywhere. It’s a lot more tiring than actually running
outside and putting distance behind you. What the coach got was a bunch of
sweating teenage boys who were creating a thunder of shoes hitting the gym’s
wood floor. It may have been good for us, so he said, but all I got from it was
sweat and tiredness.

Many years later I upgraded to a higher tech form of running in place. I bought
a treadmill. It didn’t have the video screens and interaction available today,
but it did have a few scenarios. I could run on a flat surface or it would rise up
and go down to simulate running on hills. It was good exercise, but it wasn’t
RUNNING! Running to me means going outside to run. Whether it is around
the block or several miles, it was a run. Over the years I put some miles
behind me and wore out some shoes.

A lot of us practice out faith the same way as running in place. We do the
same things in the same ways. We say our prayers by rote and go to a
service or Mass on Sunday because it is just the way we do things, by rote
and by habit. Those who read the Bible daily fall into two categories: the ones
who read intensely, getting as much as they can from God’s word, and then
there are those who set the timer for 15 minutes and read the words, but don’t
get the WORD.

Are you one of those who are running in place with your faith and belief, doing
it by habit and rote? Or, are you out there running through your faith and
belief, getting the maximum benefit from your efforts? If you are in the first
group, then you should open the door and run through God’s world. It will
build your spiritual muscle.

Touch

Touch. It is how we connect physically with someone else. It may be a
handshake of two people meeting for the first time. It may be an intense embrace
between a husband and wife. Or, it may take the form of hugs between family
members or close friends. Whether it is a form of greeting or an expression of
love or affection, it is a physical reaching out to make contact with another
person.

A long time ago when I was in college, one of my psychology professors said
that babies who, for whatever reason, were not touched became listless and
did not interact with their surroundings and the people who were nearby. I
remember he said that he knew of cases where babies were left untouched for
two years except for feeding and changing and a few even died.

We live in a physical world. People who are deaf and blind use touch as their
means to communicate with the people in their lives. Certainly one of the
most famous was Helen Keller. When she was 19 months old she contracted
an unknown illness that left her blind and deaf. She was eventually taught to
speak by Anne Sullivan and went on to become a world renowned public
speaker and author. Anne Sullivan started out by spelling words in the palm of
Helen’s hand. Teaching and learning by touch.

Touch. One of the criticisms that non-believers have about God is how can we
love someone we cannot see, cannot touch. Those of us who do believe
know that God does touch us. Not in the physical way but in our heart and
soul. We are told, in turn, to love him with our whole heart, whole mind, whole
soul and whole strength. And God loves us at a level far beyond our ability to
comprehend. He is the Infinite and his love for us knows no limit. It is his gift
to us, the “us” he created in his own image. His touch is on our hearts and
souls and this is how we can feel him and know him. Even those who turn
away from him or deny him are touched by him and loved by him.

How about you? Have you touched God? You can’t do it physically, of
course, but you can with your belief, your prayers, your words and actions that
follow his wishes. Has God touched you? Yes, of course he has by
answering your prayers, by the little things that come into your life that are
good and unexpected. To touch is to love and your touch and God’s touch are
the real love connection.

Focus, Focus, Focus

I was recently talking to a lady I work with from time to time and she said something interesting. She said she was talking to her boyfriend and when he said, “I love you”, she responded with, “I love you, too.” He told her she was changing the subject. His point was that he was talking about his feelings for her and instead of focusing on that, she changed the subject and focused on her feelings for him. He said that her attitude at that point was that she heard his statement about his feelings and brushed them aside and, basically, told him that her feelings were more important.

That exchange of feelings is common. We all do it. In fact, we sometimes get our feelings hurt when we tell someone we love them and we don’t get the expected response back. When that is the case, we are again focusing on our wants and not the other person. We say something and what we really want is not to express our feelings for the other person, but to have them validate our needs

It doesn’t have to be a declaration of love, it can be anything that we say to someone else and we want them to hear the message, not change the direction to them or to negate the feeling we have stated. It is like having two people vote for the opposing political candidate; they cancel each other out. When you change the direction of an expressed feeling or thought, you are really canceling the other person out.

Do you do the same thing in your relationship with God? When God is speaking to you or sending a message your way, he wants you to listen and act on what he says. Whether you are seeing the message in the Bible, some phrase that jumps off of the page at you or it is something you hear or feel, what do you do? Of course, what you should do is listen to the message and do, or not do, whatever he is asking of you or just accepting his words. Or, do you take the opportunity to remind God of what YOU want or need? That is akin to saying, “I hear what you are saying, God, but what about me and what I want?” If you treated your best friend that way all of the time, how long would that friendship last? Who is a better best friend than God? Fortunately, he has infinite patience with us and forgives us our self-centered responses.

We don’t always know what God wants of us, that is why he has many ways and people that he puts in our path to get our attention and get the message. He already knows what we want and, if it is good for us, then he will make sure we get it “in due time.” In the meantime, it is up to us to focus on his needs for us so we can do what he needs us to do.

So, where are you focused? Is it internally to take care of your needs first? Should you not be turning your focus on what God wants and let him take care of you and your needs? It certainly works better that way.