We were driving on our way back home from our recent mission from Fort McMurray. With 2 hours more to drive at around 10:30 at night, the gas gauge showed only 3 bars left of our gasoline. I was pushing and trying to stay positive that our gas will last us to Red Deer, which is 30 minutes away.

I was rushing. I was trying to stay cool and calm but deep within me I was worried. I knew I was running out of fuel. I kept pushing. Then suddenly, a deer appeared trying to cross the road. It was a near miss. I thought my heart was going to burst out of my chest! Praise God, we were safe!

We continued driving and very timely, when the gauge flashed only a bar left of our gas, there was a gasoline station 5 minutes away. It was on the exit just right after where we nearly collided with a deer. We proceeded and filled up our tank. It was such a relief! We prayed the Holy Rosary as we headed our way back to Calgary.

“That was a God moment!,” the two of us agreed. The deer that we almost hit was a sign of God telling: “Slow down. There is a station near. Go and fill up your tank. Relax. I am taking care of everything.”

In our busy lives, we tend to always rush and try to accomplish things in such a short span of time. We are always on the go. We always push ourselves to keep up with time – this world’s time.

We push ourselves to the limits, at times to an extreme that we have nothing really left to give. We have emptied our tanks.

In our pursuit of Christ, there are pit stops where we can stop for a while and re-fuel ourselves.

There is a lot of work to do for God, that is a reality. But the ultimate truth is that: there is God that does pretty much everything of this work that was entrusted to us!

So relax, take time, and savor every encounter of God while we pursue Him. We have to remind ourselves again that before we even started pursuing Him, He has pursued us first and He will keep pursuing us.

God created us. He knows our strengths and weaknesses. He knows everything! He knows that we get tired too. That is why He keeps providing us with a resting place to return to whenever we are tired and weary. That resting place is in His loving arms!

Whenever we run out of fuel, let us return to Him, who is our unlimited source of strength. He is the Living Water that will quench our deepest thirst. He is the Living Bread that will forever satisfy our hunger.

He is God.

Here is an inspiring song from Himig Heswita entitled: “How Lovely is Your Dwelling Place.”

How lovely is your dwelling place,

O Lord mighty God, Lord of all

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Even the lowly sparrow finds a home for her brood

And the swallow a nest for herself

Where she may lay here young

In your altars my king and my God

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How lovely is your dwelling place,

O Lord mighty God, Lord of all

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Blessed are they whose dwelling Is Your own Lord of peace

Blest are they refreshed by springs and by rain

When dryness daunts and scathes

Behold my shield My king and my God!

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How lovely is your dwelling place,

O Lord mighty God, Lord of all

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I would forsake a thousand other days anywhere

If I could spend one day in Your courts

Belong to you alone

My strength are You alone

My glory, my king and my God!

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How lovely is your dwelling place,

O Lord mighty God, Lord of all

Lately, have you filled up your tank?