Tip of My Iceberg

The goal was to go into San Francisco for the day to visit family.

Rather than drive into the city—which neither of us wanted to do because we’d have been channeling our inner crazy person to attempt such a feat—we decided to take the ferry from Sausalito to the wharf.

Sausalito is a beautiful little place, across the bay from San Francisco. A hamlet of small shops and huge homes.

And more bike riders than I’ve ever seen on so few streets.

We parked and got tickets to the ferry, with a few minutes to spare to walk and gaze across the bay. The sun was hot, so we took off our jackets and waited to board.

We chose to stand by the rail as we rode across. The wind picked up precipitously. Hotter than the dickens one moment. Freezing every piece of exposed skin the next.

As we ferried across, I noticed a band of fog to the right. With a small piece of metalwork poking from the top. I couldn’t figure out what it was.

John kindly pointed out that it was the Golden Gate Bridge.

We drove across it on our way to Santa Rosa. It’s 1.7 miles from one end to the other and 746 feet high, with three lanes of traffic crossing each way.

It’s huge.

Yet I could barely see it.

The fog blanketed the bridge and made it appear as if it wasn’t there.

That didn’t keep people from driving on it. Walking across it.

My inability to see it didn’t mean it didn’t exist.

As we ferried further, the sun began to melt the fog cover on the bridge. The brighter the sun, the more the fog lifted.

The easier it was to see the bridge.

I had one of my more profound “aha” moments.

How often in my life, when things are going gray and grumbly, do I miss seeing Jesus in the midst of my own fog? I become focused on the problem, the gray, the darkness.

If I focus on His light, His truth, clarity begins to break through that fog. I become more able to see what’s really happening instead of just perceiving my current emotional reality.

Jesus is there, engaged in life, whether I see Him, believe Him or question Him. My inability to perceive Him doesn’t diminish who He is or what He does.

We had an incredible time in San Francisco. Wandering with brothers whom we love. Walking, talking, enjoying the company of special people.

As we took the ferry back to Sausalito, the sun was fully out. The fog was completely gone.

The Golden Gate Bridge appeared in all its glory. We could see, even at a distance, the traffic going back and forth across the bridge.

As it had been doing all day.

Life in the moment is often full of fog. We don’t know everything. Can’t see everything.

But if we’re willing to wait on the One who knows all things, revealing them to us in His time, the fog will begin to lift.

Isn’t sunshine a wonderful thing?