Broken Bridges

"I have choices, every second of the day, to serve my Lord. To honor Him with my speech and with my thoughts, with the way I love those around me and the way I worship Him. Every moment, there is another opportunity, and I want to use as many of them as He will allow. In fact, Scripture tells me that one day I will stand before Him, and I will (symbolically) hand the King of all Kings a tattered scrapbook of my days. It is up to me to decide what the pages will reveal.
There are many, many pages I want to rip up and hide...maybe you do too. But that shouldn't consume me. Rather, I want to focus on the beauty of this gift that the Lord has given."
-Angie Smith

I have started this post along time ago. I simply couldn't figure out how to finish it, until now, after reading Angie's latest blog post. God gave me the remaining words.

I had a terrible day yesterday. It was full of anxiety. I found myself crying for no reason. I just felt like I had nothing left to give anyone. In an attempt to rid myself of this overwhelming anxiety, I cleaned and cleaned.

Later that evening, I went out with a very dear friend, Lindsey. As we sat having a glass of wine, I told her about how I was feeling. She preceded to tell me I do have more to give, I just need to pray about it and God will help. I need not rely on others to make me feel loved, it's God's love I need, then all else will fall into place. I just love her.

Once home, Ben and I watch a movie together. I had watched it a few days ago, but need the insight from a "guy's" perspective. We had a great time. He amazed me with his analogy of the movie...gosh, he's smart. What started out to appear to be a horrible day, ended great.

It seems that human nature causes us to make decisions we sometimes regret. We say things, we later wish we hadn't...do things, we wish we never did...leave, when we should have stayed...hurt, when we should have loved...the result...broken bridges with those we love.

You can see them standing on the other side, yet struggle to reach them. Either you're not ready to reach or you're waiting for them to make the first move. How do you repair the bridge? Can you? Will they ever forgive you, can you forgive?

As I look at my life, there has been many broken bridges. Some repaired, some still in need of repair. Why do I make these choices? I believe it's because I've been attacked by Satan. Why do I believe him? I really don't know...am I weak, caught up in want, pride, selfishness, envy, jealousy, and so on. Has he actually manipulated my mind to believe I deserve all these things.

In order to repair a broken bridge, both sides need not be willing. Words from one of my favorite song's come to mind. Everyone needs compassion, a love that's never failing, let mercy fall on me. Everyone needs forgiveness, the kindness of a Savior. Shine your light and let the whole world see, we're singing for the glory of a risen King, Jesus.

It may be difficult at times to reach, we can't let pride or fear of rejection get in the way. In reflecting Christ character, we can give compassion and forgiveness to those on the other side.
It's that simple. They don't have to be at that same point. We can't control others, only ourselves.

Angie's blog describes moments of our lives as photographs forever engraved in our minds, a scrapbook of our days. Do you have a bridge in need of repair?...Start today, create new photos for your scrapbook.