October 11, 2005

[Rev. Doc]

Building Bridges

"But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept."
Genesis 33:4

There were two brothers. They had not spoken for many years. The Father had given them adjoining land, they had built houses and farmed their land and raised their families together. BUT! There had been hurt and pain and disappointment and misunderstanding between the two brothers. They had not spoken to each other in many years. When they were out on the front porch they could look across the creek bed and see each other, but they would not look toward the other one. One day the one brother won the lottery. It was not the big lottery, but enough for the brother to take his wife to Hawaii and then he had a plan for the rest of the money. He talked to the local carpenter and told him to build a big fence between his property and his brother’s. The brothers had not talked since their mother died. The local carpenter was also the pastor at the little country church down the road. The pastor/carpenter knew the old man and the old woman and knew they would want them to be friends and family. The angry brother ordered the wood and then flew off to Hawaii for a vacation. For many days the pastor/carpenter built. He started building a bridge across the creek. Slowly, each board went together and soon the bridge was finished. The angry brother pulled in his drive way from their vacation in Hawaii, and his other brother walked across the bridge and greeted him on his return. They hugged and cried. They talked and remembered their old gray haired Momma and Daddy. The brother started back across the bridge and said, COME on over, eat with us tonight. The brothers lived several more years, as brothers and friends.

Prayer: Ask God to help you overcome pride and always have a heart of forgiveness.

"Forgiveness is the well from which we draw the water to wash others' feet."
~D. Siler