The Bridge to God ...

It's interesting that when we start out on a certain path, we don't always end up where we think we should. This has proven true not only about life in general, but about specific times in our life. God has plans for me, He tells me, "I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for." (Jeremiah 29:11 MSG), and sometimes He even lets me in on them. Sometimes, I merely respond and follow because I trust Him and "... we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good." (Romans 8:28 MSG).

This past summer (yes, it seems so long ago now) Sandy and I had a wonderful "opportunity" to build a dream of hers ... a water feature. Now, when my wife dreams, she dreams BIG! As a dear friend (actually, part of our adopted family), Tara Balcom, said, "No little water feature, mind you! A very impressive one complete with a bridge and everything!"

I've come to really enjoy working with my wife over these past 30 years. We are the perfect pair: she holds the whip, I hold the hammer. Just kidding, honey!! In all fairness, once we got started on this particular project, I was thoroughly jazzed about it.

To the right is a picture from Sunset that inspired her dream water feature. So, in mid-July we started down the pathway to completing the dream! The original thought was "we should be able to get this done in a weekend!" Remember what I said about dreaming BIG? Keep that tucked away for now.

We used our nice economic stimulus check to purchase the necessary pump, hosing, liner, etc. We gathered rocks (lots of rocks), stumps, old fencing and other materials from wherever we could. Much of it was free (except the labor to retrieve it, the gas to haul it, and the time to "assemble" it) and we are very thankful to God for His blessings on this project.

We worked ... and worked ... and worked ... and worked some more. At times we questioned if this project was bigger than our skills and abilities. We've tackled large projects before, but we kinda had a clue about what we were doing before we started down the pathway.

Not so much with this project - sure, we had some guidance from the "pond man", the internet, a video, several books and they all made it sound and look so simple ... ANYBODY could do it, it seemed.

Now, for those who don't know me ... I'm a planner. Yes, a very detailed planner. I have computerized drawings of how parts of this project would look and be constructed. But, as the old saying goes, "The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry", we ended up in a different place than where we thought we would. But, God knew exactly where we'd end up ... He knew it before time itself began! I truly marvel at His wisdom and insight as I view it with my 20/20 vision - alway in hindsight, that is! All in all, it took us almost a month (not of Sundays, but close) to finish just Phase 1 - the water feature.

After we completed the water feature, we rested ... for a few days. Then, we started on Phase 2 - the bridge. Now, the plan from nearly the beginning was to make a water feature that looked seasoned, in other words "old". Well, as we approached the bridge phase, we knew we couldn't use "new" wood, it just wouldn't look right. So we while we were scrounging around for material, we were informed by Tara of some folks that had old, used 2x6 fencing they wanted to get rid of. We jumped on that because when we saw the phone pix she sent us, it was exactly what we were looking for! It was a true blessing, as it fit the need and resulted in a old, rugged bridge to go with the seasoned water feature.

Well, as we progressed on the bridge phase, a tragedy hit the Balcom family - they lost their daughter, Kristen, three days following her birth. "Why?" was the question of the day, the week, the month, the year, and possibly a lifetime. But, as we continue to learn, God knows why and we aren't always privy to that ... yet. The Balcom family, facing many overwhelming decisions ahead of them, came to realize that they could only handle one at a time and they would have to cross each bridge when they came to it. It was during this difficult time that the inspiration came to dedicate this old, rugged bridge and seasoned water feature to baby Kristen.

So, with new vigor, desire, and hope we finished the bridge. Shortly thereafter, we invited the Balcom family and others to unveil the dedication. Even now, as I write this, the symbology is huge ... almost beyond comprehension. We thought it would be a nice "little" water feature with a bridge across it. Something that we could enjoy for a few years. But, in reality, it has become a symbol of Hope. Hope that we all will see Kristen again as we continue our eternal lives with the Lord ... where she is now.

It's the same Hope that died on that old, rugged Cross so many centuries ago. The death of Jesus followed three days later by His resurrection provided the bridge for us to get back into relationship with our Heavenly Father. "It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but he has now revealed him to you in these last days." (1 Peter 1:19-20 NLT)

You see, God dreams BIG too, when He looked through all of time and space and saw your broken relationship with Him, He sent Jesus to rebuild it ... Jesus is The Bridge to God.

Did it take a weekend? No, only Eternity. Blessings!!

PS - to see our project journey, go here.

I don't do a lot of things anymore ...

I used to pray and read my bible religiously ... but not any more. Galatians 3:3 says "... After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?" That sounds pretty good to me!

I actually don't pray anymore, but I do talk with God like I would talk with anybody else. Yes, He talks with me too. Sometimes, He points at something as I pass by in my life. He says, "Hey, Rod! Look at this! Do you see what I see?" Sometimes I think He's just playing with my mind, but then, as my eyes focus, I really do see what He sees. For example, just the other day, I was gazing out our living room window at a number of small birds - swallows, I believe - when suddenly, a squirrel scurries along a stone path with an apple in its mouth. Then a motion caught my attention ... out at the end of our driveway was a deer slowly walking along. Just think, right in the middle of my mindless viewing, God shows me a veritable zoo! A zoo! Right in my front yard.

So, what does that have to do with praying and reading? Well, He showed me that His world is alive! I'm part of His world and He breathes life into me as well. It says in Philipians 2:13 (AMP) [Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you - energizing and creating in you the power and desire - both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight.

He desires to be a God of life, not death. He wants to show me life ... so in the midst of a cool fall day, he showed me how much life there was right in my own front yard! So, I've found that praying and reading is somewhat boring compared to the living relationship that I have with Jesus. He and I interact on such a different level than when I simply pray and read out of rote, out of duty.

His Word says that He is "energizing and creating" me ... for what? For "His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight" ... that sounds a whole lot more interesting than just sitting around praying and reading. You might try it sometime. Blessings!

Hello, My Name Is ...

Hello, my name is Rod and I’m a hater of God. Now, before you move to another website, please continue reading. This isn’t a “normal” story of how a person found God and then everything is just wonderful with a perfect life with no hardships or difficulties. This is a real description of somebody who wants to be true and honest about what they are.

Long after I started this journey with God, He showed me that I needed help. He showed me that I would need His help everyday of my life … not just once or twice before I died. He shows me that He isn’t merely a crutch or a gurney, but He is like life support for a person – helping me breathe, keeping my heart pumping, making my brain function, my entire person to exist as a living entity in this universe. This goes way beyond just leaning on something … it became my very lifeline, my very source of living.

It started a few years ago when I was driving to work and just minding my own business. I was listening and singing to music and then all of a sudden a curtain appeared before me. Now, this might concern people if they thought that I wasn’t able to see the road. Not so, I could still see everything, but there was a very real curtain there. After a brief moment, a slit in the curtain allowed a blinding light to shine into my eyes. You might think this to be that “bright white light” that people have described between when they die and then come back to life. It wasn’t that kind of light, because I was still alive … or so I thought. It was black light – bright, shining, but black as ink and just as blinding.

What God showed me was only a little glimpse of who I really am – and it was blindingly black. I am someone who hates God and wants to do what I want to do without considering anybody else. I am selfish and proud. I am willing to kill anybody to get what I want. I use words to injure others. I think thoughts that are evil and cause me to want to do things my way. I don’t want to do the things I should, I want to do the things I shouldn’t do. You see, there are things I do that I’m not proud of … but, most of the time, they’re things that people don’t see. They happen in my mind, my thoughts. But, if I continue to think about them, I end up doing them.

If people knew what goes on in my mind, they would probably fear me. They absolutely wouldn’t want to be around me because I am evil and do evil. But, that doesn’t stop me from thinking and doing these things.

So, what am I to do? Who can help me? That’s what God shows me during the drive-by curtain call. He shows me that He sees me entirely differently than I see myself. You see, He was telling me the truth about me – that I’m a rotten, stinking, evil person. I don’t deserve to live, but actually deserve to die. I am a person without hope.

He then shows me how He can help me. He offers me a new life. He gives me hope and future and offers me a new way of thinking. He shows me that I can turn to Him and, at that very moment and instant in time, can tell him about the evil I’m thinking and doing. But, it doesn’t stop there. He doesn’t condemn me and turn away from me. Just the opposite, He opens His arms and when I step towards Him, He wraps His loving arms around me and holds me. I then say, “Daddy, forgive me for the evil I’m thinking and the evil I want to do.” He says, “I do forgive you and I love you … forever. You’re part of my family and I want to be with you forever.” God helps me and makes a way for me to spend all of time and eternity with Him.

Each day that I exist, I am cognizant of my evil, which then reminds me of my need for God. He then reminds me that He made the way for me … The Way is Jesus. Jesus is the Way, Truth and Life. Because of Jesus taking my place and dying for my sin – past, present, and future – I can be with my Heavenly Father, starting now and into forever.

So, now when I think or do evil, I don’t concern myself with what others think. I only am concerned with what He thinks – my Father – the One who made the Way for me to get back to Him. My life is in Him. My entire existence is in Him. I run to Him several times a day – because it’s several times a day that I think or do evil. He’s always there, waiting with arms open, ready to hold me again. I tell Him what’s wrong and because I’ve done that, He gives me a clean record, just as if I hadn’t done anything wrong. He forgives me … always.

You see, sometimes people around me aren’t as forgiving because they want to hold the bad things I think and do against me. But, that’s all right, because I know Somebody who loves me unconditionally. He always wants to forgive me – because He always wants to be with me and He paid the price to be with me. He is more concerned with where I am with Him than what I’ve done.

Like I said when I starting writing this, this isn’t a “normal” story of how a person found God and then everything is just wonderful with a perfect life with no hardships or difficulties. I don’t have a perfect life and I have hardships and difficulties everyday, but now I have someone to help me make it through each day. There are some people who love me and forgive me, but most aren’t capable of loving and forgiving me like my Father. That’s the hardest and most difficult part of living each day … knowing that some people around me don’t love me and forgive me. But, He does and that gets me through each day.

Even though there are people in your life that probably don’t know what you’re going through at any given moment in your life, or who may not be loving or forgiving towards you. God loves me and that makes it possible for me to love you. I accept you … because God accepts me. I forgive you … because God forgives me. I want you to know that I love you, accept you, and forgive you. If you ever need anything, I can only offer to help but your Heavenly Father can provide everything you need, never forget that. I, and others, may fail you, but He will never fail you.