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HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY TO ME
I was just
sitting here thinking how blessed I am that I woke up to another Mother’s
Day. I was thinking about my family and
how much I love them and how they love me.
I also was thinking about how good God is to me.
I once
attended a seminar about Southern France.
It was a lovely seminar that served regional wines and regional food and
showed us a film on the region. They
gave us posters of the region and I took a poster of the Pont De Gard. It reminded me of an aqueduct. It had three layers of arcs that was a bridge
across a body of water.
The Pont du
Gard (English: Bridge of the Gard) is an ancient Roman aqueduct bridge that crosses the Gardon River[4] in Vers-Pont-du-Gard near Remoulins, in the Gard
département
of southern France. It is part of the Nîmes aqueduct, a 50
km-long (31 mi) structure built by the Romans to carry water from a spring
at Uzès to the Roman colony of Nemausus (Nîmes). Because the terrain between the two
points is hilly, the aqueduct – built mostly underground – took a
long, winding route that crossed the gorge of the Gardon, requiring the
construction of an aqueduct bridge. Built in the 1st century AD, the Pont du
Gard is the highest of all Roman aqueduct bridges and is the best preserved
after the Aqueduct of Segovia.
It was added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites
in 1985 because of its historical importance.
The bridge has
three tiers of arches, standing 48.8 m (160 ft.) high. The whole
aqueduct descends in height by only 17 m (56 ft.) over its entire
length, while the bridge descends by a mere 2.5 cm (0.98 in) – a
gradient of only 1 in 3,000 – which is indicative of the great precision
that Roman engineers were able to achieve using only simple technology. The
aqueduct formerly carried an estimated 200,000 m3
(44,000,000 imp gal) of water a day to the fountains, baths and homes
of the citizens of Nîmes. It continued to be used possibly until the 6th
century, with some parts used for significantly longer, but lack of maintenance
after the 4th century meant that it became increasingly clogged by mineral
deposits and debris that eventually choked off the flow of water.
After the
collapse of the Roman Empire and the aqueduct's fall into disuse, the Pont du
Gard remained largely intact due to the importance of its secondary function as
a toll bridge. For centuries the local lords and bishops were responsible for
its upkeep in exchange for the right to levy tolls on travellers using it to
cross the river, although some of its stones were looted and serious damage was
inflicted on it in the 17th century. It attracted increasing attention starting
in the 18th century and became an important tourist destination. It underwent a
series of renovations between the 18th and 21st centuries, commissioned by the
local authorities and the French state, that culminated in 2000 with the
opening of a new visitor centre and the removal of traffic and buildings from
the bridge and the area immediately around it. Today it is one of France's most
popular tourist attractions and has attracted the attention of a succession of
literary and artistic visitors.
Anyway, this
was the poster I took I put it up on my
wall and meditated about how extraordinary it would be if I could see it and
feel it and just thought about it daily.
Then guess what? About two months
later I received an invitation to go to the Southern part of France for a
visit. The cost of the land package was
$0. I thought to myself “what is this?” “Is this real or what?” Upon further investigation I found out it was
real and decided I would find a way to go.
I called and wrote everyone I knew asking for donations to help me
go. I raised over $1000 from family and
friends and booked my airfare. One of
the sites we visited was the Pont de Gard. I actually have pictures standing on
the wall of the Pont de Gard.
I just wanted
to tell you this because we are really blessed and we really can “have what we
say.” It seemed as though I had walked
into my dream. You can too. Whatever it is. It’s amazing.
Be blessed and may all your dreams come true.
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number: 1-888-210-1575
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