Holy Ground at the gas station…
Photo by Mehluli Hikwa on Unsplash
The story I am about to share happened in the Summer of 2022. It will forever be seared on my heart.
I still pray for this girl. I still wonder where she is today.
As I read in Genesis 21 this morning, I came across this passage…
Abraham had just banished his servant girl, Hagar, and illegitimate child, Ishmael.
Abraham’s wife, Sarah, hated the both of them. Sarah was eaten up with jealousy.
As Hagar is in the wilderness, alone, with just her sweet baby boy…she cried out to the Lord. She knew they were destined for death.
God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”
The part that stood out to me was that the mother of the boy, Hagar, was desperately crying. However, the verse tells us that God heard the boy crying. Whew!
God never overlooks a crying child….ever.
This includes you…
As I read this story, I thought about the girl from the gas station.
He saw her. He saw her tears. He saw her heart. He saw everything.
I will never forget.
Holy Ground at the gas station
As usual, I was in a hurry.
I pulled up to get gas a few weeks ago, and scurried out of my car. Fumbling with the credit card machine on the pump, finally, on the second go around, it gave me the go ahead to start pumping.
I hate getting gas.
It’s a thorn in my side.
This particular day, I was already running late.
I glanced at the car on the opposite side of my pump. For a split second, I thought it was my son’s car. Realizing that he was nowhere near here, I looked back at my rising gas price. Yikes.
A few seconds later, I saw a young girl go to the car I thought was my son’s. She had apparently went inside to pay and was now pumping.
She held the pump to her gas tank for maybe 5 seconds.
She quickly pulled the nozzle back out and put it back in the pump.
As clear as day, I heard God whisper to my heart, “Fill her up.”
My heart started racing.
“Wait, what?”
My mind was all over the place. I didn’t want to embarrass her, how would this work? AND, would my husband kill me if I pumped a rank stranger’s gas for them with these soaring prices?
I didn’t have time to call him. I just had to act.
I peaked over the pump and asked her if her pump was working properly.
“yes, ma’am.” She sweetly replied.
Then, I asked her if she was able to fill her tank up.
“No, ma’am”, she said.
Mustering up every ounce of Jesus courage, I asked her if I could fill her tank up for her.
She burst into tears.
I burst into tears.
Hot crying messes we were.
She then asked me where I went to church.
I told her and she replied, almost inaudibly as she looked down at her feet, “I need to go to church.”
Strange. I wasn’t expecting her to say that. Of all the things, those words pierced my heart.
She then told me that her week had been terrible. Her birthday was the day before and she had hit a deer with her car. She had a big dent on the front of her bumper.
I hugged her like she was my own girl, and told her that God saw her. Not only did He see her but that He loved her.
She melted into my arms.
Two strangers. Hugging tightly for dear life.
I told her I loved her too.
Somehow, she left without me getting her phone number.
But, maybe that was the point.
Maybe, it wasn’t about me, or the gas, or her dented car…
But, about JESUS.
Showing His Mercy and Love to BOTH of us there at that gas station.
Just that morning I had asked God to open my eyes like He had opened Elisha’s servant. {2 Kings 6:17-20}
Oh man, did He.
Pulling out of that gas station, I felt like I had just been with Jesus Himself.
Remember when Moses went on top of that mountain and got the 10 commandments from God? He came down and his face was shining so bright that it frightened the Israelites. He had to veil his face because of the glow.
I felt the same way. I felt an illumination of my heart. I felt that I had just been at the feet of Jesus.
It was a sacred place, it was holy ground.
Since that day, I have prayed for her like she was my own daughter.
I have zero idea of her home life or situation, but I do know that God stopped me in my distracted and hurried tracks to see her.
She is cherished.
She is treasured.
She is seen.
And, so are you.
He will stop at nothing to show Himself to us…and sometimes He uses hurried momma’s pumping gas with racing hearts and stuttering tongues to be a part of His story.
The gas station girl will forever be etched on my heart.
A much needed reminder that He loves me, and He loves you more than we could ever fathom.
I am praying as my tired fingers type, that He you will see Him in your days.
Whether rushing around, or sitting at home…
He is THERE.
He is EL ROI…God who sees.
keeping my eyes open,
jill
