It May Be Old, But It's Dependable

I was recently reviewing some pictures in my phone and came across one I took back in June during our visit to Picayune.  It’s a picture of an old bridge we use to cross when we walked to school.  The bridge is about 40 feet long and stretches out over a small creek.  Crossing over it at the age of 42 brought back a lot of great memories from my youth.  Plus it gave me a chance to tell a few stories to my kids.  It was really a great moment that I’ll never forget. 

As I looked at the picture I realized that someone had enough courage, determination and wisdom to build this bridge.  Someone had the right idea of helping the children attending Roseland Park Elementary School get there a little safer. 

That bridge is still standing and crossable today.  My boys and I walked across it and played on it, we even read some of the names that are carved into the railing.  But when we approached the bridge initially we were careful.  At first I wouldn’t let them on it.  I wanted to make sure that the wood wasn’t rotten or the boards weren’t loose.  I wanted to make sure the bridge was safe to cross.  After I crossed it and completed a thorough inspection, I called for Connor and Collin to come to me.  At first the boys were a little skeptical about crossing.  They were careful about where they stepped and how they placed their weight on the boards, but after the first few steps and seeing me comfortably walking back and forth, they begin to loosen up and enjoy the time on the bridge. 

My point with this is we all have areas of our life that we’re uncomfortable with crossing.  We each have things that we’re afraid to cross and wonder how in the world are we going to handle it?  Well, someone has already been down that road and built a bridge.  Someone has already understood what it’s going to take to overcome the smelly, muddy, nasty creek and provided the means to cross it safely and comfortably.  

The problem is we look at the bridge and don’t want to cross because it’s old.  We think it’s unstable and undependable so we start looking for other ways.  We start trying to find a “new” way to cross an old problem.  This in itself brings more stress and anxiety into our lives.  We bring more problems into our life all because we don’t want to trust the way someone has already provided.  True, the bridge looks old; that’s because it is.  It’s been used for many years by many people; it’s been tried and tested and it still stands.  There may be a board that’s loose or a nail sticking up, but it’s still the safest way to cross. 

The next time you have an old issue crop up in your life and you don’t know how you’re going to get across it, remember there is a bridge that you can use that’s been tried and tested over many years.  Trust it.

Just my thoughts on a page.