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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Empty and Full (06/04/09)
“Empty,” Lois thudded the gas tank gauge with her finger. “Looks like Daddy forgot to fill up after church last night.” The kids were abnormally quiet in the backseat. Lois glanced in the rear view mirror. They were droopy-eyed from a day of swimming at the neighbor’s pool. Leah propped her head against the side of her car seat, and Jacob was staring straight ahead in a daze.

“No wonder your dad wanted to walk to work this morning. Well, we’ll just have to get gas at the store’s ‘Gas n Go’.” Lois didn’t like taking the kids to the grocery store, but this would be a quick trip. She only had twenty-five dollars in the grocery envelop.

The old Dodge Caravan pulled into traffic. Lois checked the gas gauge again hoping to see a change. The little orange pointer remained suspiciously below the capital “E”.

“Great, I’m not going to risk it.” She whispered to herself and eyed the gas stations coming up. The price of gas in this part of town stayed above the national average. Lois usually avoided stopping at these glitzy marts, but the little orange pointer wasn’t budging, so she quickly pulled into the first station.

“Okay, let’s see here,” she said reaching into the glove compartment for the gas envelop. Sometimes Lois hated the “envelop system”. It would be so much easier to pull out the plastic and fill ‘er up, but paying for everything with cash offered a sense of freedom she wasn’t willing to lose. “Five dollars. Okay, I guess it’ll have to do.”

With the kids sleeping in the backseat, she locked the doors and quickly walked the ten steps to the attendant’s window. The man in front of her was struggling to understand how his gas pump worked and kept asking the same questions over and over again. Lois tried not to eaves drop, turning her attention to her dirty white Caravan with missing hubcaps.

“Lois!” A voice chimed from a Lexus at the next island of pumps. Lois turned to see one of the preschool moms waving frantically at her.
“Hi Amanda.” Amanda wore a brightly colored blouse tucked into designer jeans. A ruby clasp held her golden highlights neatly on the top of her head. Suddenly, Lois felt keenly aware of the sweat pants and t-shirt she had thrown on to go to the store.

“Lois, it’s so good to see you. How are the kids?” Amanda swiped her credit card into the machine and put the pump into action.

“They’re fine. And yours?” Lois responded and gave her five dollars to the girl behind the window.

“Oh, they’re with my ex and his girlfriend, but they’re great. Staying busy. Audrey just took up horseback riding. It’s crazy. We’re off to the beach next week. What are you guys doing this summer?”

“Oh, we’re just staying close to home, playing games, doing crafts, swimming. That’s about it.” Lois finished pumping her five dollars worth of gas. “It’s good to see you Amanda.” Amanda flashed a bright smile and pulled out her Blackberry.

The caravan rumbled to life, and Lois pulled back into traffic. Glancing into her mirror, she noticed Amanda texting on her phone. Then her eyes fell to the sleepy heads in the backseat. A feeling of gratefulness welled up inside of her. Lois knew she would never drive a Lexus or wear designer anything. She might never even make it to the beach, but she was rich. Her heart panged a little for Amanda, and she made a mental note to give her a call.

An old pickup truck crossed in front of the Caravan. Printed on the back in white lettering were the words, “The thief comes to kill and steal to destroy, but I have come that you might have life and have it to the full.” Lois’ heart beat a little faster. A full life meant more than good kids, a loving husband, and being debt-free. She paused within her gratefulness asking forgiveness for not sharing more from the wealth of love she had been given. The pickup truck slowed and turned at the next intersection. Lois smiled and waved goodbye to the stranger whispering to the quietness of the van, “Thank you, Daddy. Thank you for eternal life and that I have it to the full.”
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Member Comments
Member
Date
Janice Giesbrecht
06/13/09
Thank you for this piece. Certainly the thief comes with his materialistic temptations to steal our peace and joy and thankfulness. But true joy is on a whole different level. I've struggled like Lois and I so appreciate God's reminders - including this story.
Mildred Sheldon
06/13/09
Amen. Loved this story. Sad not all know that loving Jesus always keeps his children full regardless of circumstances. Good job.
Coleene VanTilburg 
06/19/09
I truly loved this little insight into the thoughts of a truth-seeking young mom trying to be Christ-like. She finds happiness in her humble circumstances and is able to discern the shallowness in others, opposite of what this world trys to teach us. Great story and reminder. Thanks
Deborah Porter 
06/20/09
Hi Mary. I just wanted to leave a quick note to congratulate you on your 3rd place win in Level 2, and to let you know you also did extremely well overall, ranking 36th out of all the entries for the week.

It was a big week of entries, so you really deserve an extra pat on the back. If you would like to see the highest rankings for yourself, you can find them here:
http://www.faithwriters.com/Boards/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=25956

The highest rankings are posted every Thursday evening on the Message Boards.

Now it's time for you to move up to Level 3.

Hope to see you at the FaithWriters' Conference in August. It’s going to be an amazing time of inspiration, information and encouragement. (If I’ve already mentioned that to you, forgive me. We’re just so excited about letting members know about this great gathering.)
http://www.faithwriters.com/conference.php

With love, Deb (Challenge Coordinator)