Bridges

Bridges #7 - The Bridge on a Blind Curve

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:13:41 CDT

This blog entry has been delayed, partially because I have looked (unsuccessfully) everywhere for a photo of the bridge I want to present here. When I lived in Iowa and visited my parents in Missouri, the way was from Des Moines to Kansas City on US Hiway 69. In northern Missouri, rural and following hills and rivers, old Hiway 69 was two lanes with curbs! In today’s safety considerations it was already dangerous. But then, in a gradual curve, a 2 lane bridge was encountered which was narrow, with no room for pulling over. The concrete bridge rails were so high that it was impossible to see oncoming traffic from either direction as you entered the bridge. On more than one occasion I was passed by an oncoming traffic, sometimes even large trucks, which I had no chance to see to prepare for the close encounter! I once saw a news article in the Des Moines Register, which identified the ‘killer bridge’; I agreed.

I recall entering that bridge in good weather and driving rain. One trip especially during a night rainstorm was when an 18-wheeler suddenly visible was coming toward me at 70 mph. With no warning, he was on me and I had to tuck my car (and family) between the truck on the outside, and the bridge rail of the inside. There was only time for the first two words of a Prayer, “Oh Lord…” and it was over…

Life is like that – sometimes the comparison would take your breath away. When you graduate from high school and leave home for college, only the Lord knows what is ahead. Your only certainty is that many blind curves lie ahead. When you get married, everyone at the ceremony realizes how different life will be, and the many decisions you face and how life will change. When children come along, most parents are finally aware of life’s uncertainties, and in words I am using here, blind curves which lie ahead.

God is faithful, and His promise is to never leave us. He is there when we don’t know where to turn. And He is still there when an unexpected turn of events causes us to admit that we must trust Him. We have no idea how it will turn out, but God is with us, and we can place our trust in Him. Back to my blind, curving bridge at night in the rain, for a split second I only had to say, “Oh Lord, protect us. Keep me on my side of this wet highway, and keep that truck on his side, even though both sides are narrow and wet. Keep me steady, and focused. Thank you, Lord.” And then the prayer, which has taken me thirty-five years to realize the need to say, “Thank you, Lord, for just being there!” Because as you can plainly see, I did not have the time to complete the prayer. In His promise, our Savior completed my prayer to God the Father, and now I say Thank You,

In Jesus’ Name!

Bridges #6 - The Completed Span

Fri, 30 May 2008 10:32:10 CDT

When a bridge is completed and open for use, it is such a relief from the previous traffic congestion that we often don’t even notice the bridge itself. But there is a bridge close to us on Highway 146 going north to I-10 as you leave League City going north or east, that you cannot possibly keep from being aware as you cross it. It is at least 4 lanes each direction. The view I am giving you here is the same bridge seen from my little plane as I approach it going east; a ‘God’s Eye View’, perhaps. My thoughts as I watched this masterpiece being constructed included the beauty I saw. The two suspension towers are so tall that they are an obstruction to aircraft flying low. As the yellow cables were attached to take up the weight of the bridge itself, symmetry of the entire project, especially from this view, became quite apparent!

Just as it is with our lives. God has built us, and continues the process through our children, construction our lives with His purpose. For some of us, the project is massive – carrying many around us from one shore to the other, high above water that may be calm & blue, or stormy. The design of our lives, including the freedoms He has given us, all belong to Him & Him alone. The beauty of the design is His. I believe that God stands off sometimes and admires the beauty of his creation, which he reminds us that we should be thankful for –

In Jesus’ Name!

Bridges #5 - The Last One Across

Sun, 04 May 2008 10:49:03 CDT

The situation was so very tedious and dangerous that I prayed “Lord, PLEASE, just get me over this one last hurdle, and I will NEVER go this way again. The feeling was that I was the only one crossing the bridge, and the bridge was falling around me, even as I was crossing it. I could barely see the way for one more step, and I could not see how in the world I would be able to cross the entire length without falling. So my prayer had to be intense and continuous. Half way across, and with no way to turn back, I realized that the Prayer to God was sustaining me, not my own balance, and certainly not my skill.

Truly, it is that way in life, my friends. Especially when I am down & out, and life has dealt me a job loss again, or my marriage has fallen apart, or my kids are being difficult, or finances are overpowering; in all these cases, life itself can become so lonely. It turns into ‘me against life’, and no matter how hard I try, I cannot make headway. Said simply, I get discouraged. And then especially, my process becomes ‘turn it over to God’ and let him help in the job, with my wife & kids, and in controlling expenses. Talking with God; asking Him how his son, Jesus would have handled the situation, or literally asking for safety over the failing bridge.

At times, this is the way this Blog will continue,

“In Jesus Name”

Bridges #4 - Wide is the Way...

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:32:16 CDT

As you can see, the way to Galveston is getting wider. It will soon provide six lanes off the Island as well as six lanes onto the Island. And folks will be going both ways, all times of the day & night. This bridge remains the only way to drive to & from Galveston. Hurricanes have made it obvious that the bridge simply MUST be bigger, perhaps making some of us wonder about the scripture which says ‘wide is the way that leads to destruction’. Unless a storm cloud is coming from the gulf of Mexico, a person would be confused as to which way he should go on this wide bridge. After all if so many are going both ways, can either way be considered good or bad? It sort of depends on your like or dislike of Galveston…

Satan has many ways to confuse us, especially when we apply scripture to a situation seen by others in a different way. For instance, if you are coming toward the camera (on the left of this photo) you don’t see the warning sign going away from the camera, pointing the safer way as the extreme right lane is closed down and many arrows with lit, elevated signs warn drivers to move to the left as the road narrows. The safe way becomes more narrow, and slightly more difficult. In effect, this narrows the way for a safe passage to Galveston, even as travelers can observe the construction of six new lanes (on the bridge to the right).

Wide or narrow bridge, to or from a city, with or against traffic, all depend on your point of view. Safety in numbers to exit the city in front of a dangerous storm will indeed cause a wide bridge to be a safe passage, and God would agree with your rapid & safe departure, even while Galveston & Texas open all 12 lanes to departing the Island.

In Jesus Name!

Bridges #3 - A Bridge Under Construction

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 09:39:30 CDT

It is unusual to be able to study the construction of a bridge as it is custom built in place. Most of the time, a highway, including bridges, is built out of the public’s eye, and finally opened for our use, to be traveled and be relieved at the more convenient way, or smoothness of the road. But as I go to work and turn from Egrett Bay Blvd to NASA Parkway every day, I see the slow but determined construction of the massive structure that NASA Parkway bypass is to become. Each of these massive supports weighs tons, and together they are designed to hold the complete weight of untold thousands of tons of traffic, moving at highway speeds or at a dead stop, as we in the Houston metroplex are aware. Future traffic, no matter how dense, must be adequately handled or traffic will only be worse, and never better!

I am reminded of the future plan God put in place for us when he designed, before the world was in place, according to John 1st chapter, the manner of our salvation. God actually designed, and with the life of his son, Jesus, put in place, the Bridge, the ONLY WAY for us to come to Him. And it was done as time began! What an awesome God we serve! The very foundation of our Faith, the support structure of what we believe, was provided instantly, not over a period of months or years, by our God. HE, and He alone, is the Way to heaven. Tell someone…

In Jesus Name!

Bridges #2 - Flying Past Bridges

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 09:57:18 CDT

Several years ago I obtained this photo from friends flying past the Chicago skyline. At the time I saved the picture because of the airplane and the striking backdrop. In this current observation, I see Chicago’s famous Lakeshore Drive past the marina representing many thousands of people with a high rolling lifestyle by Lake Michigan where they keep their yachts, but who live north or south of the city, crossing that double decked bridge you can see just in front of the little plane.

You might ask “What is that to me?” So what- a bridge, even a fancy one, in Chicago… who cares? It would seem to me that our Lord was faced with a similar situation when he answered his disciples as they asked him (beginning in Mark 9:39) about ‘those people casting out devils in your name. What should we do with them, Lord?’ And Jesus answered, in effect ‘Don’t stop them, or what is that to you?’ It seems to me that God provides each of us the bridge that we need each day, just exactly the one we need, when we need it. Your bridge may not be the same one I use. You may see others’ bridges just as I see yours, or this Lakeshore Drive Bridge, from a distance. But God is providing that bridge for His purpose in the lives of those affected. The bridge means little to me other than my ability to recognize it and give God the glory, recognizing its place in God’s plan.

Give God the glory as you pass by other bridges in your daily activities – with Him!

In Jesus’ Name!

Bridges #1 - Bridges in Our Lives

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 13:39:05 CDT

With Jerry’s recent lesson series concerning bridges, I have begun thinking much more about them. I suggested after his 1st lesson that I had strong thoughts about the subject and wanted to write about them, perhaps for use here at New Beginnings. Jerry’s sermons have continued even while he was in Budapest, and my thoughts have not gone away. Last Sunday morning Jerry challenged us to ‘do something’ this week in Jesus’ Name. And the commitment came. Here goes…! And with God’s blessing, they will continue each week with a unique thought concerning Bridges and their importance in our lives.

How many bridges are in your life? May I suggest that you take most of them for granted. Today on my way to work, with a fresh commitment to just ‘do it’, I concentrated on counting bridges as I drove through League City, over Clear Creek on Egret Bay Blvd, and turned onto NASA Rd 1, or NASA Parkway as it is now known. Some of these bridges I have passed over, not even noticing them. But each one, if it were not there, would have altered the way I went to work. Some were significant – getting over Clear Creek – and others were just the way the road was built over a drainage ditch. But IF a Texas sized thunderstorm had been present, this ditch would become impassable in the flood as you know. Another Bridge is one to go ‘under’ because significant traffic passes overhead. The delay in my trip would be significant if that large structure had not been built years ago

This is a photo of a couple of those Bridges- taken for granted – just as we sometimes take our Lord for granted. “I am the Way, the Truth and the Light”, might also have said ‘the Bridge’. Be it over troubled water, or past an obstacle, our Lord Jesus provides a Bridge for you when you need it. Or do you finally ask the Lord for HELP when you need to sleep under a bridge, outcast from all that you know?

BTW, I passed OVER 6, and UNDER 1 bridge. If you get a different count, let me know. I really had to concentrate to see them, and was easily distracted in the count. After all, I was driving… Is there a lesson here, too?

“In Jesus’ Name!”