Keeping the Tank Full

“Never let your gas tank get below a quarter.” My dad offered this practical advice to me when I turned 16. I had just learned to drive and passed the in-car test. He handed me the keys, the gas card, and a ticket to independence. The freedom of the car came with a curfew and a few practical tips. Always keeping gas in the car was very important to him. “You never know what is going to happen,” was his mantra and gas in the tank was the solution to it all.

I can recall several times I wanted to skip the gas filling responsibility. The hassle of pumping gas, going into the station to pay, and remembering to write the mileage on my receipt took too much time and effort from my independence. It became a task I was forced to check off because I had to, not because it was preparing me.

Spring is a season of go. It’s the beginning of the outdoor seasons, the emergence of the sun and the end of incidental hibernation, and the time of spring cleaning and fresh starts. We seem to pick up the pace this time of year. We are on the go, always having somewhere to be or something to do.

It’s in this busy spring season we need to keep an eye on our gas tank. If we spend our days and evenings on the go, we can quickly burn the gas in our tank. Our energy and time seem to be used up beyond their normal levels. We run low without even noticing.

Sometimes in the seasons of busy, we let our tank run below a quarter of a tank. We let our tank get to E and attempt to survive on fumes. Stopping to fill our tank is a task we don’t prioritize. It takes up too much of our time when we have so many things on the to-do list. Filling the tank is more of a chore than preparation for what is ahead.

It’s during the stressful, constant, and go-type seasons we need to watch our gas tanks purposefully. We must learn to fill our tanks when they get low. But we cannot fill them as an item on the checklist. We must learn to fill our tank as a preparation for what is to come. Fill ourselves, so we have enough to go.

My physical tank fills with rest. Not sitting still, but taking intentional time to do something physically and mentally restful. It’s playing with my kids. Cooking a meal. Or watching a movie. To rest our mind and body, we need to create a white space where we can let our thoughts slow down. We need to laugh and have some fun. Treat our physical body well.

My spiritual tank must be filled with rest, too. Resting in the comfort of Jesus. I need to find time for worship. Time for reading and praying. And I need time for fellowship. Jesus set an example of spiritual tank-filling throughout his Earthly ministry. He would often retreat to a place on his own to focus and fill his tank in the presence of the Father.

Today, I find myself in one of these seasons. I go from one task to another to another all day long. Day after day and night after night. From school to home, work to church, I have a lot of really good things going on. I am in a place of life doing things I love. But my plate is full. I have so many plates spinning I have run my tank down to a quarter of a tank. Rest and white space are just another set of tasks to check off instead of a way of preparing me for the next string of busy. I am exhausted.

This weekend I decided to create some white space. I made time for my family and myself. I put aside the work checklist to play soccer in my backyard and watched a feel-good Hallmark movie. And I made time to worship. I allowed myself to press pause on the tasks and recharge. I filled my tank from empty to full.

It turns out my dad’s advice for the car is a good reminder for life, too. I spent the past week running on fumes, pushing the limits to see how far I could go before I had to fill up. Now that my tank is full I am ready for the next stretch of busy. I feel prepared for the upcoming week, and the lengthy task list included.

How do you fill your tank?