A few weeks back I attended a 90th birthday party for a pastor in the community.
The event was filled with stories, laughter, and tears. The room was filled with friends, family, community leaders, and others who were grateful for the impact through the years.
One set of remarks made stood out to me. It was a poem shared for the honoree by a fellow pastor in the community:
The Bridge Builder
“An old man going a lone highway,
Came, at the evening cold and gray,
To a chasm vast and deep and wide.
Through which was flowing a sullen tide
The old man crossed in the twilight dim,
The sullen stream had no fear for him;
But he turned when safe on the other side
And built a bridge to span the tide.
“Old man,” said a fellow pilgrim near,
“You are wasting your strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the ending day,
You never again will pass this way;
You’ve crossed the chasm, deep and wide,
Why build this bridge at evening tide?”
The builder lifted his old gray head;
“Good friend, in the path I have come,” he said,
“There followed after me to-day
A youth whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm that has been as naught to me
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be;
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building this bridge for him!”
By Will Allen Dromgoogle
A young man asking an old man why he is building a bridge that he won’t ever need to use. The old man sharing that he is building the bridge for another young traveler who will need to use it one day.
It’s a great challenge and a reminder to invest in the next generation.
Even when you might not reap the rewards of your investment, it matters for those who will come behind you.
I’m thankful for those who have built bridges for me. For my parents, for teachers, and for mentors.
Make the intentional choice today to be a bridge builder for the next generation.
