February 29

This is Isaac getting ready to play right field during the JV game at Liberty High School this afternoon. Although it was great to see him out there (and especially great to see him make a terrific running catch), this entry is only tangentially related to the picture.

I'll back up a bit. If you'd asked me yesterday if today's game would happen, I would've replied with a definitive no. There was quite a lot of rain in the forecast and it seemed an unlikely outcome.

But it was clear this morning and the rain was scheduled to roll in later than initially anticipated, so off Isaac and I went to Brentwood at 1:30 this afternoon. It wasn't exactly a sunny day, but it was a pleasant enough drive along the freeway and then through the rolling hills between Livermore and Brentwood. I'm not a huge fan of driving that route because Vasco Road features sweeping (and distracting) views of cow-dotted countryside and  massive windmills. And despite the many rises and falls in the road, the majority of people who use it think 80 miles per hour is always an acceptable speed.

The trip back home, however, was crafted of the stuff of my nightmares: I had to navigate that road I dislike so much in virtual darkness and the kind of heavy rain that launches my windshield wipers into hyperdrive. As I white-knuckled my way along, I asked God to keep me moving in the right direction. (And to make everyone slow down, for pete's sake.) 

And He did just that. As I rolled into the garage and parked, I sighed and thanked Him for riding with us and getting us home safely. So tonight I'm thankful that we have a God who is with us when we weather both metaphorical and physical storms.