Out of Gas

This always reminds me of a delightful incident that once happened to a good friend of mine.  He and his wife were driving through the Smoky Mountains, enjoying the scenery.  It began to get dark, and he was low on gas.  His wife asked him if they shouldn’t be getting gas somewhere, but he assured her they had enough for now.

Well, as these things often happen, he kept driving, thinking that surely they would find a gas station soon.  But there were no stations, and by now he was in trouble. He prayed, “Lord, help me find a gas station.”  He knew that if he didn’t, there would be a murder in the mountains!

He came around a turn and saw a country gas station with one of those old glass pumps.  My friend knocked on the door, and an old mountaineer came out to pump the gas.  His head was down as he kept his eye on the nozzle of that ancient pump.

My friend was so relieved that he took a deep breath of mountain air and with a smile said, “It’s great to be alive.”

The old mountaineer never lifted his head but just replied.  “I wouldn’t know.  I’ve never been no other way.”

Life; Blessings; Thanks

Adrian Rogers, The Power of His Presence (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1995), 167-168.