Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Bridge (07/31/08)
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TITLE: Drawing Your Own Conclusions | Previous Challenge Entry
By Linda Shurkey
08/04/08 -
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“Hurry, Mom, the gate is about to close and we’ll have to wait another hour while all the boats go through; I’ll miss my last chance to catch the train, and my dreams will be shattered,” Carl spouted off as his mother slowed the mini-van to a halt.
“Carl, we wouldn’t be rushing if you didn’t stay out all night again. If this were not a family invitation you would be grounded right now. Avoiding warning signals at a drawbridge is a dangerous thing to d0. We must be alert in all our decision making.”
“But, Mom, we have to get there, my life will never be the same if I don’t.”
“Carl, Carl, when are you going to learn there is more to life than what you want to do. The universe does not revolve around you. There are just too many things that can go wrong when you ignore the rules.”
Silence enveloped the car once more. Mom was praying for the words to speak and for her son’s ears to really hear them. Carl was pouting and thinking of all fun he was going to miss. He just knew he would not get to the big party in Ohio. Cousin John had said there would be girls and drinking and maybe some marijuana too.
Even though he was just sixteen Carl’s parents said he could go, they thought he should experience some independence traveling alone by train was a beginning; they had no idea that the party was going to be unsupervised, being unaware that John’s parents were going out of town that weekend to visit a sick relative.
Suddenly several cars swerved around theirs, through the gate in an attempt to jump across before the bridge opened any further. Carl yelled for his mom to follow; when she refused he reached for the gas pedal, pushing it to the floor. The engine roared but they didn’t move and inch. While Carl was pouting and planning what to do mom had put the vehicle in park.
“What are you trying to do, Carl?”
“Mom, the others are going across, why can’t we?”
“We cannot do what everyone else does expecting God to get us through on our terms. Just because Jesus paid the price for our sins doesn’t mean we can do as we please and He will take care of it. We are expected us to follow His commands and to ask Him what we should do if we don’t know ourselves. We are to listen for his voice before we act the way we want. Carl, our hearts can deceive us; the Devil will deceive us; but God will not. His Word is life and health to those that find it. His Word says submit to all authority and not to tempt Him by doing what we want without considering the consequences.”
Mom thanked the Lord for giving her the words and prayed her son received them. Minutes ticked by and the silence was overpowering for Carl. He knew his mother was right, as usual. From the time he was five years old his mother was telling him, “Just because everyone else is jumping off the bridge doesn’t mean you are.” He didn’t get all that stuff about God but he knew enough to know that his mother wasn’t backing down now.
Carl did miss the train that day and he did miss the party; he also missed dying without Christ. Two of the three cars, trying to beat the bridge, went into the bay drowning five people. At the party there was drinking and drug use and three teens overdosed and died. When Carl heard about it he stayed up in his room for hours thinking about the fact one of those could have easily been him. Where would he be now?
At his cousin John’s funeral there were a great number of mourners; many a tear shed for those lost boys and girls. At the close of the service a pastor gave an invitation call to anyone who wanted to know for sure where he or she would spend eternity. Carl’s mom and dad were praying silently as Carl slipped out of his seat and made his way to the altar bridging the gap between himself and the Lord.
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As the father of two teenage daughters, I could relate to the struggle this mom was going through.
We want our children to understand the dangers of the WIDE path, but they have such a hard time seeing the world as it REALLY is.
I really enjoyed this entry.
One of the top five as far as I'm concerned.
LOL, but I'm not one of the judges.
May God bless!
Sincerely,
Dan Blankenship