When we're headed towards home

"the base things of the world"

1 Corinthians 1:28

I watched some historic baseball on TV this week.  The Los Angeles Dodgers vs the New York Yankees.  Historic because the Dodgers have never played in a regular season game in Yankee Stadium.  The only times they've ever been there, it was for  the World Series, and the last time that happened was in 1981.

Making it even more fun for me to watch, I had family members in attendance.  I'm related to some pretty blue-bleeding Dodger fans, who decided as soon as they heard the Dodgers would be in Yankee Stadium, that they wanted to be there.   So even while I was watching the game, I was receiving photos on my phone from the stadium.

Well, I wasn't really receiving photos from the Stadium.  I was receiving photos of the stadium from folks I love.  And who love me.

It was supposed to be two games on two different nights, but the weather had its own notions, so instead it was a day/night doubleheader, which is rare and exciting in its own right.

As I sat there watching the game, there was a play wherein a Dodger got a hit, getting him to first.  At the same time, there was a runner already on base, who ran to second, and then third, and then started for home.  As he was heading towards third, the third base coach was giving him the "go ahead" for home, but then he thought better of it, and held up his hands to stop him.   It became obvious that was the right decision, as the ball made it to the plate before the runner would have.

After the play was completed, the camera focused for a few minutes on the third base coach and the runner, grinning a little about the close call, and the decision for the runner to stop at third.  And I thought how interesting it is in baseball, that there's a coach posted at first and third, instead of just making the runners decide the best course of action.  The coaches keep their eyes on the ball, and gauge what kind of play the fielder is going to be making. 

And it would be pretty foolish of the runner to not pay attention to the coach.  They're simply in a better position to decide if the runner should stop or keep going.

Sometimes we're in the same position.  We come to a point of decision, and maybe we're too close to the situation to be able to clearly decide.  But He has provided for us, in those times.  People in our lives who know us, and know our situation, yet still have some objectivity.  Like coaches, they can't do it for us, but with wisdom and experience, they can tell us what they see and what they'd do. 

We always have His Word as a guide, but sometimes the Bible doesn't touch our situation literally.  Then it's such a joy to have someone in your life who can help you understand how to apply it to a given situation.  The choice is still ours to make, but it's nice to know we don't have to decide alone.

~ "Listen now to my voice;

I will give you counsel,

and God will be with you" ~

Exodus 18:19

~