Yesterday my daughter and I went for a bike ride at the campground. It’s been a couple years since I’ve been on my bike and so I knew we weren’t going to travel too far and that the road was going to be pretty smooth.
I had forgotten about the bridge.
As we started over the bridge her words of warning rang in my ear, “don’t let your tire get caught between the planks”. I hadn’t even thought about that. I was really just enjoying the ride and taking in as much of the view as I could.
Now there was a warning! There was some element of danger that I needed to avoid. Shortly, we would be crossing that bridge again as we headed back to our campsite. This time I paid more attention as I chose which plank to align with for the crossing.
That old saying “we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it” was going through my mind. Each bridge we cross takes us to new territory, new adventures, new situations. Bridges like graduation, marriage, job placement, a new city, health and retirement. Each one will have challenges and could also have pitfalls. It’s important that we don’t let our tires get caught between the planks.
The image I used for this morning’s blog was a well loved painting that was duplicated and widely circulated in the 1930’s through the 1950’s. It is called “The Guardian” and was painted by an Austrian artist in 1918. There was one just like it that hung in my grandmother’s living room. As a young girl I would sit and look at the painting each time we went to her home. I was intrigued by the colors but more fascinating was the large angel and the way it was protecting the children.
“Because you have made the Lord your safe place, and the Most High the place where you live, 10 nothing will hurt you. No trouble will come near your tent. 11 For He will tell His angels to care for you and keep you in all your ways. 12 They will hold you up in their hands. So your foot will not hit against a stone.” Psalm 91:9-12 NLV
I am so thankful for the Lord’s loving protection. Thankful that I am not left alone when I cross life’s bridges. Thankful that He is there to see that my tires don’t get caught between the planks.