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Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Bridges

"An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered.  
An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered."   --G.K. Chesterton
A bridge I saw before me; it's way I fain would take.
I strained my eyes to see, but the darkness made me quake.

If the bridge I do not cross, it will fore'er be my loss.
Courage whispers on, but will all be well at dawn?

I cannot see ahead.  The night is cold and dark.
I fear which way to tread, but I cannot camp or park.

I stop to kneel and pray, "Please show me the way
Ere I wax old and gray." I await what He will say.

But silence makes me pause.  His voice I do not hear;
I stand at a loss, as off my cheek rolls a tear.

Then although I see no man, I feel a gentle hand.
 I know He is near; He takes away my fear.
"He that cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he must pass himself;
for every man has need to be forgiven."  --Thomas Fuller
Poem by Bethany Carson, 2015
Linking with:
The Enchanting Rose

91 comments:

  1. Hello Bethany, What a wonderful poem, you have a way with words. And the images are perfect.. Have a happy day!

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  2. Lovely poem and analogy! Have a wonderful day!

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  3. Lovely, lovely poem! And inspiring photos. Thank you!

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  4. HI Bethany. I love this post! Thank you for sharing it with such wonderful photos!

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  5. so beautiful!! i am happy to see you at stephanies party today!!!!

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  6. Your photos and words are a beautiful combination, dear Bethany! You write such inspiring poetry...have you ever thought of writiing a book?

    Thank you so much for sharing at ROI. I have missed you and am so glad you linked up. Enjoy your day!

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    1. I have had the thought cross my mind a time or too, but I have never been serious enough about it to actually write one--maybe someday! Have a great day as well, and thanks so much for hosting the link-up. Good to join in again!

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  7. Great image, and wonderful words to match.
    Enjoy your week!
    Debbie
    xo

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  8. I love this! I've always loved bridges and your photos and poem and the perfect combination.

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  9. Great photos to accompany your beautiful words.

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  10. Bethany, this is such a lovely post...beautiful poem and perfect photos to accompany it. I do love me some bridges too! Hope the rest of your week is blessed!

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  11. What a great poem.
    The photographs make your text come to life in a very deep way.

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    1. I had the photos first, and then wrote a poem to go with them ;) Thanks!

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  12. Beautiful post- image and verse. Love it- xo Diana

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  13. Beautiful photo's! I love bridge pictures :)

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    1. Same here--bridges seem to have something special about them.

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  14. The bridge is made of wood, great Bethany.

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    1. A lot of older bridges are made from wood in the rural U.S.

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  15. Good thing to ponder about!
    One could offer that it is about changing the mind; anything, however inconvenient (or convenient), is a projection of one's mind.
    Have a Beautiful Day!
    Peace :)

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  16. I love yur landscape. I can see winter has finished. And it is typical countryside view which one it is completely different fom mine.. You are a gifted person..

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    1. Actually these photos were taken just as winter was starting; it just took me a while to get around to posting them. At present we still have snow.

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  17. Nice post on bridges! As a civil engineer, I love all bridges.

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    1. Sounds like a good job. Bridges fascinate me as well.

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  18. What a beautiful poem, Bethany. The images go perfectly with your words.

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    1. The words were written to match. ;) Thanks Carola!

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  19. Yes, every man does have a need to be forgiven. Thank you, Bethany. The pictures are so complimentary to your words.

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    1. Thanks Dianna! Isn't it wonderful how we the Lord has forgiven all of us who have asked for His forgiveness?! He doesn't hold any grudges against us for our past faults, and as the Bible says, our sins and iniquities are remembered no more!

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  20. Such a lovely post with a lovely poem, Beth and beautiful bridge pictures! I love reading English poems, but find difficult do create them :) Well done, Beth! Liuba x

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    1. I think it would be difficult to write poetry in a second language! I admire all those with multilingual talents.

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  21. Beautiful post Bethany! The last shot reminds me of a little wooden bridge from my childhood and many good memories. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. My family was thinking of a wooden bridge we saw over the Cimarron River in Oklahoma back in 2002 when we were camping and driving through the countryside. We weren't sure it was sturdy enough to drive across (it was really falling apart), so we all got out and Papa asked a farmer if the bridge was passible. He said he drove his cattle over it all the time. So we children walked to the other side, and Papa drove across--and we all survived!

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  22. What a perfect poem to accompany these beautiful images. These shots are fantastic, Bethany!

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  23. Bravo!!!!! I enjoyed this very much. I like the color of the images and certainly the old bridge.

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  24. Ooh, lovely! And you have no snow, too! ^.^

    xoxo Morning

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    1. That was back in early winter--we have plenty now. ;)

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  25. Very appropriate quote and poem to go with your pictures!

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  26. Beautiful pictures and beautiful poem, Bethany.
    Have a nice day.

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  27. Enjoyed reading this wonderful poem and quote. Goes so great with the photo's.
    Thank you for sharing.
    Blessings to you,
    Wilma. Shabby Royale.

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  28. I liked this poem Bethany. You did a good job writing it. :)
    Love in Christ,
    Ashley
    creatingpreciousmoments.blogspot.com

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  29. Bethany that's a fantastic quote that you chose. Beautiful. And I love this series of photos :)

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  30. Nice words - I think that bridge and road need a bit of TLC.

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

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    1. I do wonder the story on how that one bridge railing got broken. Some counties take better care of their country roads than others (usually the counties with higher taxes have more gravel). But on years with particularly bad spring thaws the gravel roads in every county in our area can be terrible--full of ruts, and slippery mud (a lot of fun or quite the challenge to drive through, depending on how you look at it!). Our spring thaw hasn't come yet this year, but I'm guessing this will be a milder one.

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  31. Wow!!! I have a bridge phobia at times [the kind with iron trestles above] so, your first stanza brought it all home to me. Wanting to get to the other side, but fearing the bridge, and having to know if I don't cross, it's my loss.

    Well done Bethany. Well done.

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    1. I googled it, and I think the first spelling is preferable. Glad you enjoyed the poem. You're in my prayers--hope you recover quickly!

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  32. Beautiful pictures and beautiful words!

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  33. Wonderful verse. God always has our back, but it is sometimes the hardest thing to let go and let God. I liken this poem to all the adventures I sometimes lose out on because of fear of change. Thanks for sharing. Have a blessed day!

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    1. You too! Our own fears can sometimes be our worst enemies.

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  34. Great poem and quotes Bethany! Your first and last photos are my favorites in this series:)
    Blessings, Aimee

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  35. This is such an inspiring post.

    Have a nice day.

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  36. PRetty landscape...enjoyed the poetry.

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  37. I loved your poem and the pictures of the bridges were beautiful. I enjoyed the quote at the end, too... :)

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  38. Absolutely lovely! The photos and poem are beautiful, Bethany :)

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    1. Thanks Cryslyn! Awesome to get a visit from you!

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  39. "O que mais importa não é correr, mas prosseguir com determinação.Aos poucos, chega-se longe.Devagar
    também se chega lá.Então, vamos." (Marcio Mendes)
    TALENTO MARAVILHOSO...LINDA POSTAGEM, OBRIGADA POR COMPARTILHAR!
    Um abençoado inicio de mês, fica com Deus!!!
    Beijos Marie.

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  40. Hi Bethany, I looked at your post and then at the first comment by Eileen ... I said to myself, I can't say it any better, so here it is again ... "Hello Bethany, What a wonderful poem, you have a way with words. And the images are perfect.. Have a happy day!" Thanks Eileen and thanks Bethany. This post is really wonderful. John

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  41. Wow! I'm so impressed. This is lovely! Thank you for sharing.

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