The Roseburg
Stake had a blog which would refer members to stake conference. It provided a list of speakers and the
meeting agenda. I remember the leaders
referred to it in years’ past, but did not have any information for it this
year. I unfortunately did not write down
the name of the speaker who gave a beautiful talk comparing physical walls and
bridges to what wills us.
She started
out her talk with a brief history of the Berlin wall which was built in
1961. Citizens were informed that the
wall was for their protection. Whether
we choose to call it protection or defense, for many the wall was a personal
prison. The wall did not come down until
almost two decades later. That is a long
time to feel trapped and apart. It isn’t
healthy.
The speaker
then went on to talk about the bridge that was built between Afghanistan and
Uzbekistan – a simple bridge really.
There didn’t seem anything special or sophisticated about the structure
itself – and yet the bridge seemed to open many doors and provide opportunities
that the bridge eventually became known as “Friendship Bridge” because it
provided a way to transport things through.
She compared this to the
ministering program – how sometimes we may run into sisters who have placed
walls in front of themselves and may not wish to share personal information
about themselves – and that is okay.
Perhaps we can be the ones to build up the bridges that if they ever
decide to move beyond the walls that they may choose to extend that
bridge. I realize I am not doing the
talk justice with my notes. I hope those
that read may get the gist of the message.
Sometimes it is just the small actions that help build and support
lasting friendships.
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