Friday, March 21

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

Ephesians 2:8

Gifts That Give Back

Recently I rediscovered a poem that had long been hidden in the “archives” of our house. This time reading this poem again was most reflective in helping remember the time it was given. But it cast a new enhanced light on its pertinence to our lives at this present time.

Building Bridges For Others

An old man going down a lone highway,

Came, at the evening cold and gray,

To a chasm vast and deep and wide,

The old man crossed in the twilight dim,

The sullen stream had no fear for him;

But he turned when safe on the other side

And built a bridge to span the tide.

“Old Man,” said a fellow pilgrim near,

You are wasting your time building here;

Your journey will end with the ending day,

You never again will pass this way;

You’ve crossed the chasm, deep and wide,

Why build this bridge at evening tide?”

The builder lifted his old gray head;

“Good friend, in the path I have come,” he said

“There followed after me today

A youth whose feet must pass this way.

This chasm has been as naught to me,

To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be,

He too, must cross in the twilight dim;

Good friend, I am building this bridge for him!”

~ Anonymous

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help us to learn how to build bridges for our loved ones and make us ever cognizant of the bridges that were built for us. Amen.

Carol Morrill (2014)