One way--and don't swing it!

A series inspired by sights of Kauai (a trip gifted to us).

How do you get to the other side when there’s a river in the way?  In the early 1900s, those living around Hanapepe on Kauai’s south shore found a river in the way.  Their solution was a narrow pedestrian suspension bridge.  Damaged in 1992’s Hurricane Iniki, it was restored and reinforced, and now is a draw for tourists along with the little town’s few galleries and shops.  It swings and bumps when you walk across it (which can be fun for children, but not for this “maturing” lady).  There’s not much on the other side (except, I’m told, taro fields) but that doesn’t really matter because a modern highway goes over a bridge further south.

The bridge’s definite “one way” traffic reminded me of Jesus’ proclamation, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).  We can’t jump our way to Heaven. We can’t swim there.  We can’t wish ourselves there. One way: trust in Jesus, which means accepting His payment through His death for our sins. He also said:

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it;  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (Luke 7:14)

Hundreds of years before Christ, the writer of Proverbs (probably Solomon) assembled several sayings about choosing God’s way:

I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths.
When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble...
The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.
But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.
(Proverbs 4:10-11, 18-19)



Another Proverbs passage certainly reflected my determination to get across the one-person-wide Hanapepe swinging bridge without falling in:

Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.

Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. (Proverbs 4:25-26)

Life sometimes leads us to the entrance of a dark bridge. No matter how much we pray, we don’t know what’s really ahead.  We know that we don’t want to go further without the help of God. And we can have it:

Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them.  Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it.” (Isaiah 30:20-21). New Year’s Day is a good day to reflect on path of the past and changes for another year’s journey. It’s also a wonderful time to choose a verse that might reflect your desire for spiritual goals in 2016. I keep scripture clipped above my computer as a constant reminder of God’s call on my life.  Is this something you should be doing?  By the way, there’s no zip line adjacent to the Hanapepe Bridge.  Kind of like true spiritual life—no shortcuts.