Bridges

There is this bridge swinging precariously in the wind. I watch as those going before me struggle to get across. Sometimes they slip; sometimes the even fall. A few fall straight off into the bottomless chasm beneath. I stand in my haze. There is a cloud surrounding me of everything that is holding me back…it is as if there are chains holding me down to the ground just laughing at me. I look for a way to shake the chains loose so I can give the bridge a shot. Nothing works…I cry out to God to loosen these chains…he is faithful. Now I’m free, but will I chance the bridge before me. I am allowed a peek as to what is on the other side, and I am not disappointed. It is God’s plan—His blueprint for my life. I am eager to get my hands on these blueprints because they hold the much obscured purpose for my struggles, but everything. Somehow I get loose and without hesitating I sprint across the bridge. I don’t even look beside me or below me. I simply run. I make it, and I pick up these prints. I can hardly believe that I’m actually holding them in my hand. They seem heavier than they should. I roll them out onto the ground. I feel God’s hand rest on my shoulder as he reads over me. Confused, I flip pages wondering why they are in a language I don’t understand…for that matter, I can’t even decide if it is a language. God ask me to flip through all the pages…puzzled, I simply follow his command. Each page presents the same confounding language, but one thing stands out. At each turn of the page, a new scene of my life is systematically mapped out with indecipherable words beside each. I quickly pick up the fact that the same few words are mentioned over and over. I ask God what these words mean. He tells me that these words actually are a phrase: the first one is you crying out, “Help me!” and the second one is me saying “you got it.” A tear streaks down my face as many of the scenes reveal the raw hurt that I carried around. God sees my distress and quickly shows me how much his grace was abounding when I had no clue. I get to the end of where my life is currently and flip through a few blank pages before giving God a puzzled look. He just smiles and tells me to turn to the end. I flip to the end and find that I need no words to understand what is before me. I am embracing God. He has his arms wrapped around me in love. Scattered around me are the chains each one significant of the struggles I was bound to wear on this earth. At my foot lies the thorn that God placed in my side. In my eyes rest the tears of understanding. In my arms is the savior that I have been waiting on. Tearily I turn back to God, he softly tells me, “you see Adam, it’s going to pay off.” I slowly rise. I start back across this bridge back into the world that chains me. As if on cue, I step back into my cloud of confusion and hurt, and immediately feel the burden of my struggles. I don’t lose heart this time. Something inside warms me. I feel God’s hand on my back, and I turn to see nothing. I know he’s there though. I walk with my head held high in spite of the thorn in my side. I’m a new man, a changing man, a pitiful man, an excellent example of grace, and most importantly, I’m God’s man.