I Go Not Alone
By Valerie Routhereaux, Green Bay, Wisconsin, August 8, 2008

I stand on the precipice of something new and wonderful. What will my future hold? I look behind me all my bridges have been burned. I have nothing to go back to except hopelessness and misery. I've shed their company.

Across that bridge lies, what? Fame? Fortune? No, those bridges burn behind me. So what lies ahead? My future is in God's hands.

I must seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. I stand on the edge of the bridge. Across the great divide is the Promised Land. My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus blood and righteousness.

A hand reaches for mine. I look at it and up at the face, and see comfort and joy as well as boundless love. I will not cross this bridge alone. Can you see His smile? Yes, my life is in His hands and together we'll cross over the great divide.

As I look at the bridge, I notice something different about it. It is not your typical bridge. This is a foot bridge. I can see the path cut by many who have passed this way before me. The shape isn't typical either. It's shaped like a cross, and the color is red.

A radiant light covers the bridge as I step onto it. He smiles and lets me know it is the power of the Holy Spirit guiding me.

The bridge is narrow, just wide enough for Him to walk beside me. I look down. I hate heights. Praise God for His hand in mine. I see death and decay beneath me. I look up with questions on my lips and He says there is only one way to the Promised Land all other ways are false and lead to death and destruction.

Each step brings me closer to the other side. As I look at the bridge, I see words written on the planks: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, the fruit of the Spirit guides my steps. As I draw closer to the other side all the burdens I carried in life have disappeared. I feel almost weightless.

Now, I can see the other side. People line the way welcoming me. On my cheeks are tears, not of sorrow, but joy. The love is as boundless as my Saviour's love for me, and the angels are rejoicing over me.

It has been a long journey. The walk to the front of the chapel where I shed every weight of sin, and laid them at the foot of the cross. I walked the salvation bridge, and I will not turn back. Those bridges are burned forever.