He was a fine civil engineer. He certified the bridge to the farm where I grew up. It supported even the heaviest farm implement and concrete truck! He was a fine guitar player too- inspired me to begin learning at age 10! Even though I sounded horrible, he always encouraged me and never refused to let me play along with him! He could be incorrectly perceived to be rough around the edges with his jokes, but it was so easy to see through to his kind heart, inside reflecting his King of Kings!
How appropriate that we can share his final civil engineering project with you this week...
He helped us from this…
To this!
This will mark the grand entrance to soon to be constructed Life Impact Children's Home Complex, housing over fifty at-risk children. These kids have been rescued from a life of poverty, living on the streets and human trafficking.
Here's Lori, the engineer, to explain the basics: This is your basic steel/concrete bridge. The concrete in itself can't hold anything up, and neither can the small amount of steel that is used. But together, when the cement binds to the steel bar and wire cage, it becomes much stronger than the individual parts. The former bridge lacked a supporting foundation and structure underneath. Without a supporting structure, cracks formed in the bridge. Because it was not repaired with sealant and a supporting structure, moisture and air seeped into the inner structure of the concrete and began to corrode the steel, affecting the concrete's ability to bind to the steel, causing chunks to begin to fall away, to the further detriment of the bridge. As building structures are my specific engineering expertise, Bob came to the rescue with his civil engineering knowledge and experience. We settled on a very cost-effective and easy foundation… to use the earth itself!
Not only was this his final civil engineering achievement here on this earth, but the more I thought about him and the more I couldn't help but write about his lasting impressions, legacy and parallels to the field of engineering.
In many ways we are like bridges. We can handle much of the everyday traffic to and fro, but every once in a while, something heavy comes along, which is hard to handle. If God is not there as our supporting structure, then we have nothing to lean on, so we bend and eventually fail.
We were constructed well from the beginning, with a soul, like steel in a bridge. But , if the bridge isn't inspected and properly maintained, sin, like moisture, gets in and begins eating away at us. The corrosion seems minor at first, but before we know it, the rust has rapidly spread and as the concrete that was previously bound to the steel begins to break away, so are pieces of our hearts also torn away.
Without God we are like an old broken bridge, like the first picture above, swaying to and fro, not sure where to go or what really to do. People run us over which leaves us cracked, broken and worn down over time. We can hold ourselves together for a little while, but at some point we'll crumble and eventually fail. The bridge was broken almost to the point of failure, but thankfully Lori recognized it beforehand. Neither when we are properly maintained, we're left cracked and broken like that old bridge. But, that is until we see who Christ is, in His radiance and glory, and He makes us into a new person and provides us that supporting structure.
Not only did he do a fine job in the field of engineering, but many this week honor him for his fine Christ-like influence. Thanks Bob! We'll see you again before we know it!