The Bridge

This morning I am thinking about the recurring dream I’ve been having for decades.  It’s a dream about crossing a bridge.  Although the overall theme is the same, some of details have been evolving over time.  Always I am on a road, driving happily in the direction of a place I really want to go.  But I have to cross the bridge in order to get there.  When I first started having the dream, the sight of the bridge provoked tremendous fear.  As I approached the bridge, I’d be desperately trying to figure out how I could stop or turn around.  Getting “there” felt too risky…too scary.  I really think I eventually taught myself how to quickly wake up as soon as I saw the bridge appear.  Then one night as I was dreaming of approaching the bridge, there was a bit of a twist.  Before I could make myself wake up, it was as though something temporarily lifted me out of the car so that I could see what was in the water below the bridge.  There I saw several boats, and in all of the boats there were men looking up at me.  Not one of them ever spoke, but each of their faces conveyed a very clear message that spoke to the source of my fear:  “Don’t be afraid.  I will catch you if you fall.”  So, now the dream has changed a bit again.  This time I was actually on the bridge, driving over.  I could see that the bridge had two lanes heading in the direction I was going.  I was holding on tightly to the steering wheel, intent on staying in my lane and just getting across.  I saw another car, coming up quickly beside me in the other lane.  At first I was annoyed, and then I realized I was actually afraid that if he got too close he might bump me off the side of the bridge. While I couldn’t see the driver, I could tell that he was also trying hard to just keep his car in his lane and get over the bridge.  My annoyance and fear gave way to overwhelming compassion, and I prayed for us both to get “there” safely.

As I sit here, I am contemplating how crossing the bridge symbolizes my willingness to move toward the manifestation of goals and desires for which I have long prayed.  I am acknowledging that this will require me to go beyond the safe and familiar roads of my own logic, reasoning, and experience so far.  I am embracing the truth that every road to “there” leads me, inevitably, to a bridge called Faith.  Here I must make the choice to fully trust, if I would go any further.  I know that as I make my way across the bridge, I will gain a new testimony of God’s grace to protect and uphold me.  Moreover, I will grow in my ability to relate to others who are on a journey of faith, with kindness and compassion rather than with fear or judgment.  With a firm grip on the steering wheel of hope, I am moving forward.