Who’s Fueling Your Leaky Love Tank?

Article by: Sarah Koontz, Founder of Living by Design Ministries

My oldest daughter’s love tank requires constant refueling; I’m convinced it has sprung a leak.

I could tell my tender child that I love her 100 times a day, but the words would ring hollow in her ears if I didn’t also set aside time each day to give her snuggles.

In golden blonde girl’s world, love and snuggle are synonymous –you simply cannot have one without the other.

On the days when our busy schedule prevents us from having some sort of physical contact, she is often reduced to tears by bedtime.

This past week was far busier than usual, and I was barely keeping my head above water with all the homework, school projects, and work obligations.

By Thursday afternoon, my daughter’s love tank was definitely running on empty.

She was moody and emotional, and I knew that she wouldn’t make it to the end of the week without a fill-up.

So I set aside my to-do list and spent the rest of the evening in bed with my little snuggle buddy.

Later that night, she surprised me with her unusual reaction to my goodnight kiss.

When I kissed her forehead, she made this loud explosion sound and threw her hands up in the air.

I smiled and asked what in the world she was doing.

“That was my love tank exploding because it’s so full.”

What a precious girl!

You and I have a love tank too.

It requires a special kind of fuel, a unique mix of ingredients to keep our engine running smoothly.

When we were young,  our parents were our primary fueling stations.  As we get older, we look to our spouses and friends to fill us up.

Sometimes they got the blend just right, and we feel like we can drive all the way to the moon and back on that one perfect tank of fuel.

But, more often than not, people try to fill us up with their special blend instead of mixing one suitable to us.

Or, they are so busy trying to fuel their own love tank, they let ours run bone dry and don’t even seem to notice.

I think it’s time for us to start looking for a more reliable fuel source (and a way to patch up that leak).

Do you know why God created people?

We can find the answer to this question in Isaiah 43:6-7: “Bring My sons from far away, and My daughters from the ends of the earth— everyone called by My name and created for My glory. I have formed him; indeed, I have made him.”

And this God who made us (for His glory) also made our love tank, and knows exactly what kind of fuel we need.

Psalm 90:4 says, “Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.”

His love satisfies.
It fills us up.
But, what about all those pesky leaks?

Ahhhh, but that’s the best part!

Our love tank was created to leak, that’s part of God’s purpose for us.

God wants us to leak His love all over the world.

1 Thessalonians 3:12 says, “May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.”

WOW!

So, let’s go over this one more time, just to make sure we are both on the same page.

• God created you.
• God has a special purpose for you.
• God’s love satisfies you.
• Your tank is supposed to leak.

What a beautiful and unexpected truth for us to receive today.

Conclusion

God’s ways certainly aren’t our ways, are they?

But when we take the time to explore the beauty of His design, we discover that He does nothing by accident.

So long as we live our life according to His system and plan, we won’t mind the leaky tank.

We won’t be needy and greedy when it comes to love.

Instead, we will be satisfied and our love will overflow onto others.

I will continue to strive to keep my little girl’s love tank full, but I know that I will never succeed.

The leaks are simply too large.

That’s why I will strive to daily point her to the only one who can truly satisfy her.  The only fuel source that will never run dry, or leave her longing for more.

My Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

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