Sometimes there is nothing better than a good road-trip. And even though we love the freedom and the care-free feeling that road trips bring, at the same time we must be disciplined and responsible for our fuel gage. We must stop when our tank is empty and fill up. If we don’t notice our gauge limits, we burn out. And even when we do notice that we are running low and stop, but mistakenly fill up with the wrong fuel, we also won’t get very far-  burn-out will come.

In our time, each and every human soul is challenged more and more with burn-out. And just like with a car, if we are to avoid soul burn-out, we must learn to read our personal fuel gage- we must practice knowing and accepting the limits of our own particular tank- respecting its boundaries, letting go of the vain desire to push on at all costs.

But at the same time, even if we do learn good boundaries and stop when we’re feeling low, mistakenly filling up on the wrong fuel will still lead us to burn-out. For when we go to our inner pump we are called today to learn to discern between the fuel that can truly sustain us for our journey and the fuel that leads to burn out. Burn-out fuel is feeling inspired and renewed because of how others see us…Burn-out fuel is feeling validated and energized by how much money our work is attracting…Burn-out fuel is our subtle expectation that the community and the our loved ones should fill us up with positive recognition. Outer recognition, however much, only feels good at first, but always leads to an empty gauge.

Real fuel that sustains our spirit only ever comes from angels. Real fuel never depends on what others see or don’t see. For only what comes from The Spirit will truly suffice if we are not to burn-out.

May the Christ’s loving Spirit that pours out from the place of our altar become our real fuel, sustaining our hearts, nourishing our souls.