NEED SOME HELP?

OK, a couple of weeks ago “The Hub” and I were in the mountains.

But you knew that…

We spent four days in beautifully cold and snowy weather. (Hey, listen – when you live in California, and you’ve worn shorts in the middle of November “90-degree” heat-wave weather – a little snow and a down jacket are a treat).

Just sayin’…

So, our final day arrives.

The day to “head down the mountain” and return to the city.

We pack the car, and head out.

Just one short stop in town to pay for the propane we used, and we’re outta there!

We pay the bill, come back to the car (Eddie the Explorer), put the key in the ignition, and…

NOTHING.

Yup, absolutely NOTHING. A few sputters, a few Eddie coughs – and then, silence.

OK, we’re knowing it’s not a dead battery. The battery is new, and the sound Eddie’s making just isn’t “that kind of sound” if you know what I mean. Something else is wrong.

I immediately hit “panic button.” (Glass half-empty girl here – remember?!)

“The Hub” – Mr. Calm in the Storm – says, “Don’t panic.”

(Wives out there – don’t you just love/hate how your spouse knows you???)

We try again.

NOTHING.

This lovely little scenario plays out over the next 10 minutes or so. The lady from the propane store comes out, and stops at our window.

“Need some jumper cables?”

“No, it’s not the battery. But thanks!”

We try everything. Wait short amounts of time in between turning on the key. Wait longer amounts of time. We try whistling, and singing, patting the steering wheel – “C’mon, Eddie, you can do it!”

We open the owner’s manual for probably the 3rd time in almost 12 years.

FINALLY (why are men so stubborn?) after about 45 minutes of trying this, we give in.

It’s time for Auto Club.

Now I start having visions of having to have the car fixed up there ($), or having to have it towed down the hill ($$), to have it fixed down here ($$$) – because now, in my mind, it’s a broken fuel pump, or something wrong with the fuel injection system, or the car’s computer ($$$$$). Honestly, why does a car need a computer? Does it stay up late at night after I’ve gone to bed to “surf the Web” in the driveway?

We walk over to the gas station.

Nice guy helps us – lists all the things that COULD be wrong – including many that I’ve mentioned to Mr. Calm in the Storm.

“Or it could just be the cold weather and the altitude…”

I’ve already thought of this simple cause, and tossed it out the window – because my acutely wicked sense of logic has determined that if this was the problem, it would have happened on Day One, or any of the OTHER days while tooling around town, or that very morning when we started the car in the driveway of the cabin and it started JUST FINE…(whew! Need to catch my breath here...)

“Let’s try the simple thing first,” Auto Man says.

We open the hood, take off some do-hickey (I think it was a gadget…or maybe a widget)…and while he sprays some starter fluid into something, I turn the key…

WHOOSH!

Instant turnover.

EDDIE LIVES!!

“The Hub” and I thank the man, hop in the car, and take off. We look at each other – my eyes say, “Don’t say it!” His eyes say it anyway, “See, I told you so.”

We’ve had no problems since – it was a simple problem.

Here’s the God lesson.

Sometimes in our spiritual lives, our walk of faith – we hit a snag…

Our engine stalls –

And we sit.

But often we have the same problem as Eddie the Explorer had. And it’s a simple problem.

Though there’s plenty of fuel in the tank – the fuel just isn’t getting to the engine.

We have the VERY PRESENCE of God living in our hearts! We have the POWER of the Holy Spirit! We have DIRECT ACCESS to the throne of God, who tells us to approach BOLDLY. We have CONFIDENT salvation, a LIVING HOPE for eternal life in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ!

My friends – the tank is FULL!

Sometimes the fuel just isn’t getting to the engine, and we need a little “starter fluid.”

God provides that “starter fluid” – He gives us many ways to get started after stalling out. He provides His Word, the conduit to every answer we need. He provides the community of believers, the conduit to strengthening fellowship. He provides faithful friends, the conduit to encouragement. He provides the privilege of prayer, the conduit to communication with a God who listens, a God who sees.

Are you stalled?

What do you need to “start” your engine again?

BLOG = “Blessedly Leaning On God!”