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!!
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.
1 comment:
I think I'll have to link to your bridge post on our blog, so well written! And I love the slide show! That really shows all the hard work that went into it!
Thank you again for honoring Kristen with all your hard work and such a beautiful expression of your love for her and us.
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