Bridgehunter.com, Photo by Gene McCluney
170 bridges of more than 12 feet in length over 47.5 miles was necessary to be built to complete the Panama railroad. The Panama railroad took 5 years to build in the 1850s and it connected ocean-to-ocean. It was only five-foot wide and still cost $8 million to build because of all the bridges.¹
Imagine the challenge of building so many bridges. Yet this railroad feat that connected two oceans serves as a great illustration of our relationships. We must always be building new bridges to connect. It is not enough to rest on the past bridges you have built, you must be working and building new ones. Relationships are always changing, because we are always changing as people.
Here are some ways to build new bridges in your relationships:
- In Your Marriage
- Connect with your spouse in the evening about their day; listen as they share their thoughts, feelings, concerns, and joys.
- Plan a special date night, over-night trip, or evening at home to just be together to connect.
- Say you are sorry and ask for forgiveness when you make a mistake. Reconcile and build a bridge, rather than leaving a divide.
- Constantly be trying to understand their perspective and their heart (1 Peter 3:7). Be willing to let them share their insecurities and fears.
- Pray together!
- With Your Children
- Eat family meals together around a table listening and talking to one another.
- Go spend some one-on-one time with a child doing an activity or hobby they enjoy.
- Take a family outing to a park; go for a family walk or swim.
- Read a book together and discuss it. If they are older, read a chapter at a time separate and then discuss it later. Parents and teens should work through Proverbs or another Biblical book together discussing the themes. This can be done by taking a few verses at breakfast each day.
- Work together. Take them to do some work at home or on the job with you and get them to pull their load at home.
- If our of your home; call, email, and text them. Still work to stay involved in their lives as time and space allow.
- With fellow Christians and the Church
- Go visit some shut-in or struggling member.
- Invite some new members or some old friends to your home for a meal (or out to eat1)
- Send some cards. Cards of appreciation, thanks, well-wishes, etc.
- Discuss with the preacher, elders, or a deacon their work and ministry and what you can do to be involved.
- Attend fellowship activities and service projects.
I am sure there are many suggestions that could be made, and others that are much better then these. The point is that all relationships require constant work. Satan and life in general are always trying to pull our important relationships apart. He wants to sow discord and divide. We must fight this by constantly building bridges. The cost is high! It takes work. Sometimes it takes swallowing our pride and saying we are sorry. It often requires us saying no to selfish pursuits. But the rewards of close, fulfilling relationships that are still fresh, connected, and vibrant are worth it!
What suggestions do you have for building bridges in relationships?
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1. Steve Farrar, King Me, p. 43-44
