A Choice - to Cross or not to Cross?

The evening was perfect. The nervous excitement and anticipation of this event had been played out in my thoughts over and over again until it became a repetition that lived in my mind. I had saved, I had invested, I had dreamed, I had planned…..the outcome of my future would be dependant on this one night and what would happen. I had done what I could and now I was ready to see what would happen. For something of this magnitude the setting would need to be perfect. It must have been something subconscious at the time, because I really did not realize what my future would ultimately hold, but the choice could only be one place, The Charles Bridge in the heart of Prague, this is where I had to propose to my future bride! Thankfully the answer was yes which set in motion a journey that would change my life forever.

It is true, I proposed to Jessica on the Charles Bridge somewhere about halfway out between old Prague and what was once known as the new Prague. The Charles Bridge used to be the only thing that would span the mighty Vltava River and unite the Prague Castle and the Old Town into the newer parts of the city. Of course now when you visit it all appears so old, yet there is a mystique to everything. The Charles Bridge at one time connected the possibilities of peasants and noblemen to cross over into a whole new world. Throngs of people would use this route to open up new doors of opportunity; today things are not much different. The Charles Bridge is one of the top tourist destinations in the entire city because of it’s natural beauty, but also because of the hopes and dreams of the vendors that have chosen this location to peddle their talents, hoping that this bridge will open up a new door in their life and possibly take them into the annals of history with notoriety and fame!

You see, a bridge is beautiful, not only because of what it represents architecturally, but also because of what it represents mentally as well as spiritually! Wherever a bridge exists today reminds us that in the past someone had to overcome an obstacle that they felt was worthy enough to cross over. That could be a river, an ocean, a huge ravine or gully! Whatever it may be something in the heart of the bridge maker realized that if there was just a way to get to the other side new doors could be opened. Therefore a bridge represents a transitional point. You have a choice to either stay on the same side and never cross, or you can explore places and discover dreams that were unreachable before. This is why subconsciously I feel that I chose a bridge to ask the biggest question of my life, because it was a transitional moment in my existence! Little did I realize at the time that I would be dedicating my life to planting The Bridge Church, thereby making my life’s motivation and passion of creating a bridge to new possibilities in people’s lives a reality.

I awake every morning emboldened by the possibility of what a bridge represents! You may think that it sounds so strange to be so enamored with thoughts of a bridge, yet I don’t think so. You see, Christ’s whole mission on this earth was one of bridge building. The cross was nothing more than a bridge. The bridge which the cross represented was a way for the natural man to connect with the supernatural. The bridge of the cross represented a way that had been blocked for the carnal man to enter into relationship with a loving God. You see, a way was paved and a bridge was built that represented years of frustration, but because Christ was willing to create a bridge that would give humanity a choice to either stay on the same side of comfort that slowly deadens the soul or cross over into a whole new world, we now can live in a whole new dimension of life.

Wow! Has my life changed since that day just a little over 8 years ago…… but yet at the same time things have never changed. There is still the exhilaration of the possibility of what bridge building can represent in to humanity! I choose to build bridges rather than destroy the. Whenever I am given the choice of staying who I am based on familiarity or comfort, I choose rather to cross the bridge into the unknown to explore a new world that is waiting to be discovered!