Fences and Bridges

This past month I started building a fence

I knew I was building something, i just didn't realize it was a fence

back to the fence in a minute

Maybe you've heard the story of the two brothers who lived next to each other with a adjoining property line

A tift arose, name calling began followed by insults

The first brother said, I will put an end to this and diverted a creek to create a stream between the property lines that could not be crossed

Of course, it was as much symbolic as it was physical

The message was, "don't come over here"

Time passed

One day a carpenter came to town looking for work and the second brother got this idea about hiring him to build a fence, to sort of "one up" him

He explained the project the the newly hired man

The carpenter said he understood and went off to work on the project as the second man left for work

When he returned later, to his shock, he saw the carpenter had used the materials to build a bridge, not a fence

More amazingly, the other brother was crossing the bridge thanking him for his willingness to begin restoring the relationship

they embraced

They asked the carpenter to stay and talk

He said he had many more bridges to build as he left

Guess you know who the carpenter is

Guess you know he likes bridges more than fences

He builds them

we still have to cross them, right?

I am tearing down my fence and using the materials to build a bridge

It's hard work

When I am done I will need to cross this bridge

Looking forward to the embrace on the other side

Things comes in 3's?

My car had a tough week

In the past seven days this little camry has run over a squirrel, had a duck hit the windshield and just a couple nights ago a rather large deer ended the life of the left front light and blinker

I miss the lights for sure

They say things come in threes-right now that is fine.

Ever feel you are being bombarded from every direction?
Like no matter what direction you are headed you get hit?
Insecure about what might be around the next turn?

Going 65 miles an hour and having a deer run out in front of you...well, there is pretty much nothing you can do but buckle up

boom...and then silence

maybe 10 seconds...before I noticed my wife's "that could have been a whole lot worse look"

She was right

That deer could have come right through the windshield

Our whole lives could have changed

Still, this moment could have led to a lot of anger about inconvenience or money or time

Two weeks ago a friend challenged us to write down 10 things per day we were thankful for...every day 10 new things

It is not as hard as I would have thought

I have a lot to be thankful for...a lot....a real lot...a real real lot

Know what I mean?

This accident, this moment...it is somehow leading us even more toward a spirit of gratitude and thanksgiving

Remembering daily

I would like to open a dialog box for anyone to post, even anonymously, practical ways you have found in your daily life to remember God

Some of the worst feelings in my life have been lying in bed at night and admitting to God that I had not thought about Him that day

I have a few ideas to share, but desire to be a learner with you

What are you learning?

Remember

It started a couple months ago with a call from one of my best friends in life suggesting a visit to a special place God had met him 29 years ago

A couple days ago we both knelt down there and thanked God for the words he spoke that day... and requested that God continue to keep speaking into our lives for our remaining years

A special moment then

A special moment back then

Are you like me and ever sense a need to “mark the moment”

In Old testament times God would tell His people to set up stones to remember the great miracles He did for them-like crossing the Red Sea and delivering them in battle

Later on, we read these interesting statements from those who tell the story of Jesus that “after these things, His disciples remembered…”

I used to think, how could these people ever forget these things of God? How could they forget a miracle?

As I get older, I begin to understand a little clearer

As I get older, I forget more...and I can get pretty frustrated with my memory

I get mad that God made me this way sometimes

A friend shared a thought with me once that forgetting is a gift from God

Huh?

He suggested if we remembered all the things we had done wrong, all the evil thoughts we process, all the___________ (fill it in) we do, we might possibly go insane

Could being built with a “forgetter” in our brain be a measure of His love?

Could this be why He says, and even commands, to build an altar to remember?

Or to write His commandments on our doorposts?

Maybe that’s why my buddy and I sensed His closeness by that tree last week

We were remembering His touch in our lives 29 years ago

Maybe I need to do this more often-remember what He has done in my life

Mark the moments tangibly