Free Bridge Called Hope by Kim Meeder Page A

stood as frozen as a statue.
    I could only guess at what must have been going through his head. I wondered if within his mighty contemplation he was considering how much this paralleled his life … stepping out into the unfamiliar … to do the unthinkable … with the unknown.
    Jason’s father was standing on the other side of the horse. Jason studied the saddle for some time … then looked across into the face of his father … and reached out.
    Within that moment of catching his son, I am certain that Travis was intensely grateful for his sunglasses. While trying to balance on the high wire of what he needed to do … and what he wanted to do, Travis was nearly as stiff as a wooden soldier.
    The thinly veiled emotion of everyone involved was beginning to crack.
    To ease Jason’s fears, I asked him a barrage of simple questions. In no time he began to relax, and our trio set off to circle the arena.
    As Jason became more confident, I rotated my attention to Travis. As with his son, I wished to relieve his tension by asking him easy questions about what he loved. After Travis had spoken freely about many things, it was as simple as a child’s game to “connect the dots.” “Wow! Travis likes to hike. Jason, I bet that you like to hike too! Travis thinks that swimming is pretty fun. Jason, what do you think? Do you like to swim?”
    With tentative steps, father and son began to cross the newly forged bridge that lay between them. Slowly, they started speaking directly to each other.
    As we came around by the arena gate, I looked into Travis’sface and smiled. He understood my expression when I silently passed Teva’s lead rope to him and walked away. My arms prickled with anticipated hope as behind me … a gentle verbal “rainbow” was beginning to take shape. I could hear the first, soft-spoken bonds starting to form between a father and his boy.
    After many laps together, punctuated with animated gestures, stories, and even a bit of muted laughter, Travis led Teva and Jason up to the fence where the rest of us had gathered. With Sandy and the older kids trotting raucous laps in the background, the case worker indicated to Brenda that she thought it was time … time for Jason to be told the truth about this new “friend” that he was beginning to trust.
    With every step that Brenda took toward Jason, I could sense tension rising within all of the adults. So much was at risk. So much damage had already been done. Both father and son had already suffered so greatly. What would happen if Jason broke, if he refused to accept this “nice guy” as his father? Could this young father bear another moment of not embracing the lost son that inexcusable circumstances had stolen from him?
    While sitting nearby on the arena fence, I felt like my chest was so brittle that if I took a breath, it might splinter into a million pieces. I could not begin to understand what Travis’s heart must have felt like.
Lord … we need Your help
 …
    With undeniable courage, Brenda stopped on the opposite side of Teva. She took a deep breath and looked directly into Jason’s eyes. His expression began to change; he knew that something big was coming.
    “Honey, I know that you understand that ‘Andy’ was your dad, and he took good care of you and your little sister. Butwhen your mom went away, Andy couldn’t take both of you because, you remember, he was not your birth dad. Before Andy, your mom knew another man and you were born. Then your mom knew Andy, and then your sister was born.”
    Brenda paused for this gentle reminder to firm up within Jason’s memory. “Honey, remember earlier today when you met Travis? Do you remember looking at his eyes?” At this mention, Travis silently removed his sunglasses. “Jason, his eyes are blue and look just like your eyes …”
    Jason turned and openly stared at Travis.
    Travis’s shoulders were forward, his chin was low, his hands were in front of him literally