Gearing up to get gas is nothing new, except there is something new finding its way to streets along main.

I first noticed it years back when traveling along highways and stopping for gas. As I stood at the pump, waiting for gas to spout into my tank, nothing happened. Pushing, pausing and pressing the lever harder was to no avail, and my tank remained empty in more ways than one.

Puzzled was the first emotion gripping me as I soon learned that one must prepay to get away with any gas in house. At the time, I thought this to be a remote experience in the far reaching corners of the world of which I did not often frequent.

The thoughts rolling through my mind at the time were not pleasant and went something like this. (Feel free to read it with a twang of sing-song and plenty of high pitched irritation to go along with it.) All because of one person who took off at the pump, not paying for their purchase, and now the rest of the world must suffer. Now I’m the one who’s gotta go in to prepay by putting forth my best guess as to how much I’ll need, and I stink at guess work. I was never the one who won the jar full of gumballs up for grabs by guesstimating how many were in it. That has never been my gift —ever!

I was frustrated and to this day remain so as I yearn for days gone by when trust was something of value and most were up to the task of being worthy of it. Now I, too, must follow these new rules as if I were a criminal with potential to take off at the pump prior to paying. It sorta feels like customer non-appreciation day when I pull up to pump. Rather than being served as a valued consumer who chose to buy product, it’s as if I am the one who should be grateful the stations are there in the first place.

Now this unique idea of prepaying at the pump (which by the way was here long before COVID so we can’t exactly argue that point) seems to have rolled on out to even small town America and I gotta say, I don’t like it. In fact, I intentionally do business at places who will not make it a stipulation to prepay only.

However, when I must, I must—and as the pump slowly slows at the end of my guess work, this irritates too. Heaven forbid one goes over one cent (after having spent 3,000 cents — 50 bucks). And I might add — this is on a good day when the tank still has a little within.

Remember the days when there was such a thing as a baker’s dozen? For those who don’t know what this is, it’s when one would buy a dozen donuts, and the baker would toss an extra one in for good measure. It was a nod of the head, if you will, to let the customer know they were much appreciated. It was friendly.

My husband always reassures me I’m no business major. I suppose a business person would add up all the one cents over the course of a lifetime and figure it as loss. I would see it as gain cause it just blessed someone and how can one ever put a price tag on that?

Sort of reminds me of Philippians 3:8. “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”  Verses 9-10 are powerful, too, and might be worth a look.

Gratitude for those who purchase is something even the customer doesn’t take for granted these days. Whether you are an owner of a business or an employee working within it—perhaps the gain comes when a little latitude is given as those who consume are not in it to win it—but are meagerly just trying to make their way in life, too. Amen.

Kathleen Kjolhaug lives on the family homestead in northern Minnesota. She and her husband, Pete, have 12 grandchildren thus far. As a retired reading specialist, she now enjoys writing, taking walks along gravel roads and praying attention through connection with those who matter most—each of you. She’s recently authored a 33 Day Devotional, “Wading into the Deep,” a tool intended to connect the sacred with those who matter most in each of your lives. Kathleen may be contacted via email: wemenews@gmail.com

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