When I thought about writing at Going Places, The Glass Window Bridge kept coming up in my mind… though I wasn’t sure what I was going to write. The more I thought and prayed about it, God kind of planted the seed – I followed and came up with this post…
The Glass Window Bridge
I have great memories of this place. It’s located in a remote area of Northern Eleuthera, in The Bahamas. I’ve been there twice, and neither time could I put a finger on what it was about this location… it’s different!
The Glass Window Bridge is a natural bluff, a limestone relict of a former barrier reef from a time of a higher sea level stand. The bridge crosses at the summit, 80 feet above sea level.
This is a locale symbolic of strength and resilience.
For starters, it’s called “the narrowest place on earth.” This is where the mighty Atlantic Ocean, with all of its strength and majesty, meets the splendor and beauty of the Caribbean. The Glass Window Bridge sits at the eastern edge and the end of the continental shelf, and further to the east there is a dramatic drop off into the great abyss known as the Atlantic Ocean. The man-made bridge used to be a natural crossing, until the forces of nature eroded away and permanently removed the gateway. Looking through The Glass Window Bridge would symbolically offer much to learn… although the window is narrow, these two places are worlds apart… unique… and different… and they compliment each other in the most beautiful way… in a way that only God could create.
The best explanation is that this is a place of sharp and distinct contrasts.
The dramatic rise in sea floor elevation at this location creates a scene where the power of the waves collide with the wall of limestone rock. On a day when the sea is calm this is impressive… and during a storm or when what locals describe as a “rogue wave” approaches… one can only hope that they’re not caught standing on the bridge – as the water crashes into the rock, and the bridge, anything on top is swept away. Apparently numerous cars have been washed over, and their passengers and pedestrians alike. This spot is legendary with the locals.
The coolest thing about this place to me is that it appears to have a very broad story!
This place and story isn’t about me, or my visits there… I believe God asked me to write about this place today to share a bigger story…
The following poem was written by constable Camalo McCoy shortly after his visit to The Glass Window Bridge in 1996. McCoy was called to the scene during a storm to offer assistance, apparently a car had just been washed off by the raging sea. As McCoy reached out to help Sam Pedican, God took “One child home, and one to the fold”…
“It was a cool and windy Monday morning, I left home for work a few hours after dawn.
In route to the Glass Window Bridge to render some help, I never even thought of endangering myself.
I saw a crowd gather as we drew nigh, the waves looked like they were reaching the sky.
Above the roaring waves and the air full of mist, I saw a gentleman we needed to assist.
My two comrades ran across the bridge quickly, as I waited for the man who had stopped suddenly.
He was saying something that I could not understand, he then looked up at the sky and I reached for his hand.
I was afraid, I did not know what to do, I felt I would never make it through.
My heart trembled with a fear that I could not confine, my mama always told me that God is by my side.
I never through that I would make it, after being dragged and knocked about with rocks.
I heard someone say it was only good luck, but I called on the Lord, oh, there is power in that name, and from that day on my life was not the same.
On that day He took one child home, and brought one to the fold, He gave me a new life, and for Him I am bold.
Only God knew that I would make it that day, what the future holds, no man can say.
For each of us God has a master plan, You may run like Jonah, but you can’t shun His hand.
God, He has seen what we all do, when I was in sin, He saw me too.
He could have left me there to die, or even let the waves pass by.
God used the swelling tide, to show me I cannot hide.
God could have done anything He wanted to do, He let me live so that I can tell you.
He let me fall and fixed me back upright, and wrote my name in the large book of life.”