dad drops me off at the carpool vans
full of team girls
headed to the meet
more than two hours away
he hugs me
and tells me to be careful

I am pent-up with anticipation
but glad to be getting out of town

the ride is full of chatter
about TV and movies and school
anything but gymnastics
even though it’s on everyone’s mind

as the miles slip away behind me
my thoughts wander again to God
“the shelter of the Most High”
and I wonder how I might gain entrance
to this place
if God could forgive
even me

so I lay out a fleece*
and ask
respectfully
desperately
for a 32

* Judges 6:36-40