Monday, April 12, 2010

The Weathered Old Barn


Old Barn
Photo courtesy of Steve Adam's

A stranger came by the other day with an offer that set me to thinking. He wanted to buy the old barn that sits out by the highway I told him right off he was crazy. He was a city type, you could tell by his clothes, his car, his hands, and the way he talked. He said he was driving by and saw that beautiful barn sitting out in the tall grass and wanted to know if it was for sale. I told him he had funny idea of beauty.

Sure it was a handsome building in its day. But there's been a lot of winters pass with their snow and ice and blowing wind. The summer sun's beat down on that old barn till the paints gone, and the wood has turned silver gray. Now the old building leans a good deal, looking kind of tired. Yet that fellow called it beautiful.

Now that set me to thinking, I walked out to the field and just stood there, gazing at that old barn. The stranger said he planned to use the lumber to line the walls of his den in a new country home he's building down the road. He said you couldn't get paint that beautiful. Only years of standing in weather, bearing the storms and scorching sun, only that can produce beautiful barn wood.

It came to me then, we are a lot like that, you and I. Only it's on the inside that the beauty grows with us. Sure we turn silver gray too and lean a bit more than we did when we were young and full of sap. But the Good Lord knows what He's doing. And as the years pass, He's busy using the hard wealth of our lives, the dry spells and the stormy seasons, to do a job of beautifying our souls and nothing else can produce. And to think how often folks hollar because they want life easy!

They took the old barn down today and hauled it away to beautify a rich man's house. And I reckon someday you and I'll be hauled off to Heaven to take on whatever chores the Good Lord has for us on the Great Sky Ranch. And I suspect we'll be more beautiful than for the seasons we've been through here, and just maybe even add a bit of beauty to our Father's House.

May today there be peace within you. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. I believe that friends are quiet angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.
--Author Unknown


16 comments:

Yankee Girl ~ Missy said...

That was beautiful. Thanks for sharing!!!

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

Thanks for sharing Margaret, this was a lovely story. Most enjoyable to read.

Take care, have a lovely week.
Yvonne,

Linda said...

This is so beautiful and uplifting. Thank you, Margaret. ♥

magnoliasntea said...

That's a very nice story! Thank you, Margaret. :)

A New Beginning said...

Beautiful thoughts, its wonderful how people think and inspire many others....humanity is a beautiful chord that finds its way thru varied hearts..
Thanks for sharing the beautiful post Margaret :) have a great day!

Patty said...

Beautiful story, myself I need a few new wooden planks and a fresh coat of paint. LOL

DeniseinVA said...

Another great post Margaret. I loved this story, thank you.

Chubskulit Rose said...

Thanks for sharing this wonderful story Ms. Margaret! Many times we fail to see the real beauty in things or in life in general..

Puss-in-Boots said...

What a beautiful story, Margaret.

Judy said...

This was so beautiful. I have always loved taking pictures of old barns and seeing them along the road when traveling. I think they must have so many stories to tell. Remember the ones that had advertisements written on them? This brought back a lot of memories.

Merle said...

Dear Margaret ~ A lovely story and
it shows how different things are
beautiful to others. Thanks for sharing it with us. Thank you also for your concern about my leg, which I am happy to say feels much better, Thanks also for prayers for Julie and her husband- she is only 50 and Laurie 57 and it is so sad.
Glad you liked the jokes my friend
Take care, Love, Merle.

Anonymous said...

My goodness...do you know we did the same thing when we built our first house. We looked high and low for old barn wood for our family room. It was gorgeous. Hi Margaret. xo

Patty said...

Hope you had a wonderful week-end.

Merle said...

Hi again Margaret ~~ Thank you so much for your good wishes and prayers for my leg. Happily it is much better and I got a good report from Lung specialist today
so am feeling much better. Glad you liked the jokes. Take care my
friend. Love, Merle.

Urmi said...

Very nice and wonderful post. I enjoyed very much reading it. Keep writing.

Becky said...

Margaret, that story is just beautiful, and how true it all is. Thank you so much.

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