I have heard of people doing that, but I always thought that a person was close to brain dead who would do such a thing. After I asked for my tank to be filled with regular, handed off my credit card, and as my tank was filling, I took two propane bottles over to be filled and then packed them back to the car once filled and put them in the trunk, I then went in and paid for them and got $.73 cents taken off for a pastor’s discount. I then got in the car and drove away with the gas nozzle still in my car’s gas tank. I heard a loud popping noise, looked in my side view mirror and saw the kid who pumped my gas chasing me and the gas nozzle and hose trailing after me. whooooeeeee was I humiliated, embarrassed to death, wishing that Jesus would come back right now. I apologized repeatedly, and they said no big deal, they had a quick disconnect on the hose that pulled apart when this happened, and they would just plug it back in, it happens all the time.

I have been in group discussions at lunch or other times with pastors when we got to sharing the most embarrassing moments in our lives, where you just wanted to simply die. Some of the stories that I have heard others tell I thought we’re the craziest, funniest stories, and laughed till I was sick. One of the funniest was when a friend of mine was talking to an Elder in our church on his cell phone and while talking drove off with the nozzle still in his tank, heard the commotion, looked in his mirror and then started cussing and then realized that he was still on the phone with the church Elder. Whoooooeeeeeee, I howled when I heard that story. Well, at least I didn’t cuss.

Shame is our greatest fear. It is said that most men’s greatest fear is speaking in public, it isn’t that as much as the fear of doing poorly and looking bad and being embarrassed, feeling shame.

A prayer of King David in Psalms 31:17, ”Let me not be put to shame, O Lord, for I call upon You;” I pray that prayer often.

Here is a prayer of Jesus as He hung on the cross for our sins in Psalms 69:19-21, ”You know my reproach and my shame and my dishonor; Reproach has broken my heart and I am so sick. And I looked for sympathy, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none. They also gave me gall for my food and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”

Jesus understands us because He experienced everything to the fullest that we have experienced and felt. He knows and understands what we are going through in life and what we need to get through it successfully.

Thank You, Lord Jesus for understanding me, being patient with me, forgiving me of everything and anything, giving me strength to grow, and confidence in my shame that You will never be ashamed of me.