Building Bridges

Asher and his friend Enzo looked at the creek that ran through the field near their homes. They were trying to figure out how to build a bridge over it. "I bet my dad has some boards we could use," said Enzo.The two boys ran to the shed in Enzo's backyard and found a couple of long, wide boards. They carried one of them to the creek, lifted it high, and gave it a heave, hoping it would land with both ends on dry ground. But…SPLASH! "Oh no! It missed the creek bank," said Asher. "This board won't work. It's too short." After a quick look at his watch, he added, "I need to get home--let's finish this tomorrow. I'll ask my dad if he has something that will help us." Enzo nodded, and the boys set the board against a tree and headed home.Mom met Asher at the door. "I'm glad you're home early. We invited the new family down the street to come for dinner tonight."Asher groaned. "Why do we have to have them over? They don't speak English very well, and the boy my age has a weird name I can't pronounce. Can I eat at Enzo's house? We can talk over our plans to build a bridge over the creek.""You're eating here with us," Mom said firmly, and Asher could tell by the look on her face that she wasn't happy about his attitude."I don't think they believe in God," said Asher. "We probably shouldn't get too close to them." He thought for sure his mother would have to agree with that."Maybe they don't believe in God," said Mom. "But they'll have a chance to get to know Him if we share His love with them tonight. Our new neighbors may seem different to us, but different doesn't mean bad. I'm sure we seem different to them." Mom paused for a moment. "Since you're interested in building bridges, how about helping build a bridge here tonight? Through friendship and hospitality, we can build a bridge to reach our new neighbors and show them the love of Jesus. He loves them and died for them too, so they're not so different from us after all." She motioned toward the bathroom. "Now go wash up for dinner."-Nance E. Keyes