Last week I wrote about horses and hurricanes. You can read the article here: https://benbergren.com/article-horses-and-hurricanes/. Since then, many people have asked me how the Spanish Colonial Mustangs are doing after Hurricane Dorian past over the Outer Banks of North Carolina. After doing a little digging online, I am happy to report the wild Spanish Colonial Mustangs weathered the hurricane and are doing just fine! No injuries! They did exactly what their instincts told them to do: They huddled together, went to high ground, took shelter under trees and kept their faces out of the wind!
Now on to other things…
I cross the Golden Gate Bridge a lot. Like 10 times a week. I have contributed much to the upkeep of that iconic bridge through my tolls.
I am amazed literally every time I cross it. It is an engineering feat of the early 20thcentury.
I am no engineer, but I’ve read that strength and longevity of the bridge comes down to its foundations and its flexibility. The north and south towers of the Golden Gate bridge are what give the bridge its strength. The north tower on the Marin County side was built on dry land. The south tower, on the other hand, was built 1100 feet off shore and at a depth of more than 90 feet under water and just so you know the foundation goes deeper than that!
As strong as the two towers are, the bridge’s other strength is its flexibility. It is designed to sway 27 feet laterally.
For example, in June 1935 an earthquake struck the region as men worked atop the bridge’s unfinished south tower. According to PBS’ American Experience, one worker recalled, “the tower swayed 16 feet each way. There were 12 or 13 guys on top with no way to get down… The whole thing would sway toward the ocean, guys would say, ‘here we go!’ Then it would sway back toward the bay.”
The bridge roadway can even flex up and down depending upon the amount of traffic.
Like last week when I was writing about horses you might be wondering why on earth am I talking about a bridge even if it is the Golden Gate Bridge?
I have no doubt that a strong Christian needs a firm foundation in Christ. Remember what Jesus said at the end of the “Sermon on the Mount”?
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” Matthew 7:24-25
Unfortunately, some theologians over the centuries have taken this to mean, being good and following the rules versus the one primary instruction Jesus impressed upon his disciples above all others: LOVE.
We must remain flexible enough (like the Golden Gate Bridge) to love others. The winds of hate and the waves of division will try to shake our foundations. Love is more powerful than either of those things but it is sure easy to give into anger, jealousy and the like. Just keep loving…even the haters. It is not easy, but that is what we have been called to do.
Just last week, Pope Francis was talking to the press after a visit to Africa and they were asking him about those in the Roman Catholic Church who see him as too soft on people and that might cause a schism in the church. Pope Francis replied that he wasn’t concerned about a split in the church and then he added this…
“When you see rigid Christians, bishops, priests, you know there are problems there. We need to be gentle with these people and accompany them.”
Amen to that. Now I may not agree with Pope Francis on everything but I can totally get behind this. Let us be gentle with the rigid people of this world. Our foundation is in Christ and he has given us the power to be flexible in love with those who blow a lot of hot air at us.
God bless,
Pr. Ben