Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Darren Milam
Wednesday, September 10, 2025
A few things came to mind when I captured this image. First, I presume most of us have seen the motivational picture of a kitten hanging onto the end of a rope with only one of its tiny claws – the motivation message says “Hold On!” The second thought I had was, if this was a game of tic-tac-toe, the X’s (or pigeons) would have won.
For the purpose of this photo parable, I’ll concentrate on the former. To provide a bit more context, this image was taken in the city of Luzern (or Lucerne), Switzerland. The roof you see is from the famous covered bridge named, Kapellbrucke, or Chapel Bridge (oldest wooden covered bridge in Europe). As you can see, I’ve zoomed in on the three fowl, standing in their diagonal line. What you may not be able to see, is the pitch of the roof from where they are glancing over in your direction.
For a couple of summers, when I was in highschool, I worked in the roofing industry. It’s hard work, and whenever we got a job that was steeper than the common 4/12 pitch (rise/run = 4 inches of rise, in 12 inches of run), it was even more difficult. I do have to use the term “common” loosely, as roof pitches are based on several factors such as design, weather, etc. That said, during the summers I worked on roofs, a 4/12 pitch was very easy to maneuver on. When you get into the ranges of 10/12 or 12/12, it’s a whole different story.
Back to my diagonal feathered friends, this roof (venturing a guess) was in the 10/12 or steeper range. The roof shakes are crafted from stone and (as you can see) have gathered moss and lichen. All that said, I would say it’s not the easiest to stand on. In fact, I wanted to tell my friends to “Hang On!”
No matter your specific circumstance in life, there are moments where all you can do is hang on. In Jeremiah 29, God is specifically speaking to those that had been exiled and taken from Jerusalem to Babylon. At that moment, they were just hanging on. I believe the same promise found in verses 11-14 can be for us as well:
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”