The Bridge
A man was walking along a California beach
and was
deep in prayer to the Lord. He said,
"Lord, you have
promised to give me the desires of my heart.
That's
what I am asking you for right now. Please
give me a
confirmation that you will grant my
wish."
Suddenly the sky clouded up over his head and
the
Lord, in a booming voice spoke to him.
"I have
searched your heart and determined it to be
pure.
The last time I issued a blank wish request,
it was to
Solomon. He didn't disappoint me with his request
for
wisdom. I think I can also trust that you
won't
disappoint me. Because you have been faithful
to me in
all ways, I will grant you one wish you ask
for."
The man sat and thought about it for a while
and
said, "I've always wanted to go to
Hawaii, but I'm
deathly afraid of flying and I get very
seasick on
boats. Could you build a bridge to Hawaii, so
I can
drive over there to visit whenever I
want?"
The Lord laughed and said, "That's not a
very good
wish! Think of the logistics of that
monumental
undertaking you are asking for.... How would
the
supports ever reach the bottom of the
Pacific? Think
of how much concrete...how much steel! Your
request
is very materialistic, a little
disappointing. I could
do it, but it's hard for me to justify your
craving
for worldly things. Take a little more time
and
think of another wish, a wish you think would
honor
and glorify Me as well."
The man thought about it for a long while and
tried to
think of a really good wish.
Finally, he said, "Here's the deal, Lord.
I've
been married and divorced four times. My
wives always
said that I don't care enough and that I'm
insensitive.
So my wish is that I could understand women.
I want to
know how they feel inside. . . . and what
they're
thinking when they give me the silent
treatment. . . .
I want to know why they're crying. . . I want
to know
what they really mean when they say
nothing". . .
I want to know how to make them truly happy.
That's
the wish that I really want, Lord."
After a few minutes, God smiled and asked,
"You
want two lanes or four on that bridge?"