The Bridge

After almost a month of being on vacation and then being sick with one virus after another, I'm finally getting back to normal.

This past month has been full and there is so much to share.

Yesterday was Valentine's day and the first one since meeting my husband that I have been alone.  Sure we spent some time on Facetime, but it wasn't the same.  Missing him yesterday made me think back to a special time we had on our vacation.

See the exhausted look on my face and the wooden slats behind me?

Those wooden slats were part of this bridge held together with only rope.

The rope bridge is about 500 feet long and hung about 20 feet above a river of turtles and alligators.  Yes, I said alligators.

Anybody who knows me knows that I have a HUGE fear of anything high.  What you might not know is that I had an incredibly traumatic experience on a 5 foot rope bridge as a kid.  Those two things together made for an interesting trek across the bridge. 

The bridge was mostly dry, but had sections that were mossy, wet and slick.  The slats were rickety with open space between them. 

We were in a jungle/flower/wildlife park in Honduras during vacation.  Nearly everyone on our tour walked across without fear before me.  Watching them go across without fear or problem gave me just the boost I needed to even attempt the trek.

First step onto the bridge, I looked down through the space between slats and saw the eerie eyeballs floating through the water.  I wonder now if the eye contact with the alligator somehow gave him a false sense of hope that his lunch was hovering above him.

With the second step, I quickly decided there would have to be no more looking down if I would successfully make the next 498 steps.  Grabbing hold of the ropes, I made my way across the bridge. 

Midway through, the bridge started rocking from side to side and the slats moved in a wave back and forth.  As I started to panic, I heard my husband behind me. 

As much as I love my husband, he is normally a "get it done and get over it" kind of person and usually with an abrupt tone.

But the voice, the words, he was encouraging me.  I heard him saying to me that I was doing fine, doing great as he told me to keep going.  He was exactly what and how I needed him to be at that very moment.  I was in full-blown panic mode that could have easily gone terribly wrong.  But he calmed me down and got me the rest of the way across the bridge.

I absolutely, completely fell in love with him all over again in that five minutes. 

In addition, I learned something about both of us that day.  I can overcome even my biggest fear when I have the right person behind me.  He can absolutely step outside his comfort zone to be the encouraging, loving husband.