"Indications" and the Golden Gate

The Golden Gate Bridge (from somewhere in the bushes below, at 9:15 pm)

This may sound a little dis-jointed and weird - I'm just thinking out loud.

A couple of years ago we went to Italy with some friends. (i know, sorry, saying stuff like that isn't attractive really - it's boring and braggadocios to the reader - so don't ever do it to me :).

But I need to tell you about Italy to explain the term: "Indications". See, we were driving through Tuscany (there, I did it again, sorry) and we needed directions, and this skinny little Italian guy with poor english skills told us that when we got to the end of the road we would see "indications". Hmmmm, we thought.

OK - everyone be on the lookout for "INDICATIONS", and we smiled, and waited for the much anticipated "indications". And there they were: big signs. Signs 'indicating' which way we should go. Classic.

The skinny little Italian guy was right. And so were the indications.

This week I was in San Francisco. After my meeting last night the team was trying to put together dinner plans and I said, "I'm out - I've doing The Bridge tonight". Wondering what I meant, I told them I was going to walk the Golden Gate, both ways, so go ahead without me. I've never done it - so let's knock this one off the list. At 7 pm I asked the concierge at the Marriott how I could get to the bridge for my walk and he gave me explicit directions: Cross the street, catch the #30 bus. Take the #30 to "Beach and Laguna". He reiterated: "Mr. Kanaley - trust me, you'll think you've gone too far, but don't get off until you get to Beach and Laguna". Then he said, when you get off, switch to the #28, you'll need to walk a couple blocks north on Laguna to get to the bus stop to get the 28 - that will take you to "the point" at the base of the bridge - have fun!". I even gave him $5 bucks for the advice, feeling generous and anxious to walk off some excess calories and I wasn't eating dinner.

Cool - I'm ready for some adventure. I get the #30 with just a couple of snags. "Across the street" in the Californian language doesn't necessarily mean immediately across the street, or even on the same block or within a 3 block radius. But I get over that, and I make it on the #30. Then I'm looking, watching intently, and listening for any 'indication' that Beach and Laguna is coming up. I even have a map, so I'm tracking ok - kind of. We're on Chestnut, then we turn north and swing around another block, and finally, the bus stops and I'm the only one on board. The driver says he's taking a break and will head back toward downtown in 10 minutes.

What? I need to get off at Beach and Laguna! He says there is no "Beach and Laguna" - I should have gotten off at Chestnut and Laguna. Beach is a couple blocks up from there. Another $5 down the tubes. But he tells me it's no big deal, walk "that way" then "that way" and then "that way" and I'll catch the #28. I don't have the time or space to bore you with the rest. But let me tell you, that for one thing, although it's like 128 degrees back home in Texas on this June 30th, it's about 45 degrees NEAR the Golden Gate Bridge at night, in the dark, at 9:15 pm. And, contrary to the popular belief that you can walk the bridge "anytime" you want - it closes to pedestrians at 9:00 pm. So, I got near the bridge - and that was it.

2 Cabs, 5 buses, a new sweatshirt that says "I Love San Francisco" later - I was back at the Marriott at 10 pm, and had not walked the bridge. I met some nice people, saw some neat residential neighborhood's in the Bay area, and took a few pictures of the Golden Gate - from a distance.

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So what, you ask? It's about good directions and bad directions. A good life is about following good "indications".

Throughout the Bible, OT and NT, we're reminded to watch for the "Signs" of Jesus' return. The 'Indications' will tell us when the time of the second coming of Jesus is near. Now that's advice worth paying for - and based on the accuracy of prior "indications", it's advice you can believe in. And get excited about!

This may be a stretch, but, to me, the real Golden Gate is the one I'll be walking through, arm-in-arm, with JC himself. And I think that day is coming soon.

Don't get the indications wrong. Don't trust just anybody's advice. Map it out yourself - and with God. It's tough enough trying to survive in this jungle - you don't need bad directions. Read the Word, and read it again, and read it again tomorrow, and keep reading. And Listen, and verify. Following bad advice can be painful - or worse. Zachariah 14:1 says: Watch, for the day of the Lord is coming! (which means Jesus is coming back).

Before Jesus comes back, I WILL walk that bridge in San Fran.