Bridging Gaps

[353 words] One blade of grass at a time. That’s how the last remaining Inca rope bridge is rebuilt every year. The Q’eswachaka bridge spans the Apurimac river in the Cusco region of Peru. For 600 years, communities from both sides of the bridge have been assembling to cut down the old bridge and rebuild a new one…totally out of local Ichu grass. Women of all ages participate in the gathering of the grass and using it to braid into ropes, which the men of the communities will take and twist into strong cables. The braver of the men will use the cables to build a strong enough bridge to support travelers across the gorge for the next year. The total process of bridging the gap takes only three days, and completion of the bridge requires total cooperation from both sides of the gorge. In the Lord’s body, there are…