Covered Bridge

Have you ever noticed that when it rains it pours? One thing goes wrong and soon everything else seems to be falling to pieces. Issues that would be minor alone seem a million times worse when they are added to other issues. Add one more problem on top of 10 problems and you feel like you are about to fall over the edge.

My life has been like this lately. When listing out my issues they really don't seem so bad but some days I feel so exhausted from fighting the same battles over and over again that I just want to lock myself in a room and sleep for a month of Sundays. I won't go into detail about what is going on since that's not really the point of this blog post. Just wanted to share that I've been overwhelmed lately. Feeling down in the dumps. And every time I start to feel better something else happens to knock me right back down again. It really does get exhausting.

So this weekend I found myself right in the middle of the blahs. I woke up Labor Day morning and even though nothing had gone wrong yet that day my mood was just blah. Thankfully we had plans and I was unable to sit at home and dwell on things. I wasn't really in the mood to go anywhere but we had already committed so we loaded up a bunch of stuff and the five kids and off we went.

The day was uneventful. Just your basic relaxing, hanging with family, cooking on the grill, fishing & riding bikes, lots of bandaids & kisses kind of day. After we had exhausted every possible activity and it was early evening we decided to load up and head home. Mike had promised on the way home that he would stop by the old train station building AND the old covered bridge so I could take a few pics. I've wanted to stop for years but we have always either been in a hurry to get somewhere OR it's been super late (and dark) and we just wanted to get home.

The temperature was beautiful. We pulled off the road near the covered bridge and I got out and snapped several shots . Mike & the kids were in the van laughing at me but I didn't care cause I somehow felt connected to the covered bridge. When Mike and I were first married we used to pass by the bridge on occasion and Mike, having forgotten that he already told me before, proceeded to tell me that when his grandparents first moved to Alexandria the bridge was being moved from it's original location and they almost purchased it to be placed on their property. Mike & I have now passed by that bridge for more than a decade and each time I tease him about telling me the story a million times.

Anyway, I got back in the van and we started to pull off when I realized there was another pretty shot from the other end. I screamed for Mike to stop, I put down my window, and I took a few more pics. As we were looking at the bridge, and waiting for one of the kids to buckle up, we noticed a sign. There were a few "danger! do not enter!" signs but this sign was different. How in all of these years did we not notice this sign? It was very weathered and you almost couldn't tell that there were any words on it.

I jumped out of the van and walked quickly towards the bridge so I could get a closer look and see what the sign said. I had a hard time reading it from the ground so I was very thankful for the zoom function. I took a few pictures and got back in the van one last time and we drove off.

As we went on our way I turned on the camera, zoomed in on the pic, and read the words aloud to Mike and the kids. Here is what it said:

Can you read it? Just in case... All things save this have changed within our day, beside this quiet road nestled in these joyous hills, you point your modest structure toward the sky, unsought and all unchanged, you give us still some fragrance of your peace as we go by. Built in 1871 by Frank Phillips.

Mike and I discussed the words phrase by phrase trying to get the entire meaning. Immediately my mind thought back to 1871 when the bridge was built. WHO was Frank Phillips? What sort of family did he have? What possessed him to build a bridge? I love thinking about people from the past who I never knew. I would love to know stories of people who actually walked across the bridge or went on a wagon over it. First loves standing on the bridge together. Children playing  nearby. (I'm picturing Little House on the Prairie)

Wrapping it up since this blog post is super long and I'm about to fall asleep... Imagining myself on this covered bridge in the middle of the quiet of nature suddenly brought peace to my soul. The world is constantly changing and there is so much ugliness. But the Lord gives us His creation to enjoy and HE never changes. The simplicity of a bridge, trees, and a cool breeze really brought things into perspective for me at that moment. My issues might seem overwhelming but HE is the same yesterday, today, and forever and is with me. My life is but a moment- here today and gone tomorrow. So thankful for that sign and for the way my entire day was orchestrated so that we would be there at just that moment.