Fitting In March 2017
Back in the 1960’s, Treasure Island was not just an uplift in San Francisco Bay, it was also a U.S.Navy base. Bisected by the Oakland Bay Bridge, one end of the island was busy but relatively quiet, compared to the end where the cars zoomed through on this great transition from the city of commerce to the city of ports. Enter a fellow that we will call Petty Officer First Class Eddie.
The bridge was like a river of cars. Once on the bridge during morning rush hour, I watched as a VW flipped over and was blocking two lanes of traffic trying to get from Oakland into The City. The commuting men in the next ten cars behind the blockage, jumped out, flipped the VW back up on its wheels, stuffed the driver into his seat and yelled at him to speed on. The entire affair took about two minutes, and in three, most of the bridge was back to full speed. This, like other rivers, was not a place for a jam up.
Heading in the other direction toward Oakland during the evening exodus was another potential interruption in the flow. This is where Eddie did his “stuff.” He stood on a little cement triangle at the top of the east bound onramp from Treasure Island. The sailors lined up the ramp and at the top Eddie stopped them with a look that meant business. He would glance down the flow and spot a small gap coming up. Judging the size of the opening and the horsepower of your car, Eddie would blow his whistle and wave his arms furiously. That was your moment to respond as you put the pedal to the metal and zoomed out into the traffic. Miraculously, it was almost always a perfect fit, and Eddie was already on to the next car to direct.
When we listen to the voice of God in our lives, He will direct us in a far more complex way than Eddie ever imagined. Not just speed and pattern, He also knows the right place in time, and three dimensional space. Though we often forget the unseen spiritual battle which is going on, He also knows where we fit into that chaos. When Eddie caught you even thinking about something other than his directions, you could see it in his eyes. They blazed with a “watch me or die trying it on your own” intensity. God’s guidance is far more subtle, kind, and complicated. Unfortunately, the consequences of misunderstanding His directions can be more disastrous. Fortunately, done correctly they can be infinitely, literally infinitely, rewarding both now and in time beyond.
A Guy Named Bob 