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B is for Bridge“Be a Bridge, Make the Connection.” No, it is not the new Nike slogan nor an advertisement for an upcoming sermon series at church. “Be a Bridge, Make the Connection” is the theme chosen by the senior student leadership team, know as the Prefect Board, for our school community. (For those of you who don’t know, my husband is a high school teacher employed at boarding school. Our family lives on campus and we are involved with the students on a daily basis, especially since we eat most of our meals in the dining hall with the students and worship together on Sundays.) Brightly colored t-shirts sporting the new theme slogan debuted last weekend during class challenges. Since then, they keep reappearing, proudly worn by students shuffling around campus. I’ve found myself repeating the slogan, “Be a Bridge, Make the Connection” over and over again, with much surprise and wonderment at the fact that it was actually picked by the students. To be honest, I thought it was kind of corny at first. Finally, I grabbed one of the leadership advisors and probed her about the story behind the slogan. She explained that the theme of reaching out continued to play over and over again throughout their leadership meetings. The Prefect Board was passionate about everyone in the community being connected: seniors learning names of every middle school student, returning students reaching out to the new students, all students appreciating each other’s cultural differences, and challenging reclusive students to step out of their comfort zones in order to get to know the faculty personally, not just as teachers.I was sincerely surprised by her explanation. I knew that this year’s Prefect Board was exceptionally bright and caring, yet I was taken aback by their profound vision for our little school community. I was amazed by their focus, their concern, their simple expression of hospitality and Christ-like love. Young men and women, not yet old enough to vote or die for our country, but with vision and wisdom far beyond many twice or even three times their age. I was inspired. I was challenged. I was beginning to think in terms of how to do I go about being a bridge and making the connection, not only in my community but beyond our campus boundaries.Imagine what would happen if B was for being a Bridge in everyone’s life? Couldn’t this little slogan just as easily be mounted on the front of every neighborhood community sign, on the doorpost of every church, at the entrance to every super store? The purpose, of course, being to reach out—to the neighbors that share our property line, to strangers that shop alongside us in the supermarket, and even to newcomers in our churches and weekly co-curricula involvements—with the intent to make the connection simply because we share the same community, the same world. This type of connection requires boldness on our parts. We have to get beyond ourselves and take on the interests of others. We have to stop living in fear of one another, and instead find ways to trust the good-will of our neighbor. Imagine what life would be like if instead of burning bridges we looked for ways to build them—through compassion, understanding, hospitality—to be the bridge that makes the connection with another precious human being?
