Old barns hold more than a rich history sitting on their warped wood. They have stories, love, memories, and more. So what happens when they fall? Where does all the goodness go?
I had no idea a barn could fall to show me things I had never seen before. The things it has been blocking. The things that have always been there, but now you finally see.
Yep, our new barn is finally done, and we have space to add more animals. But, unfortunately, on Father’s day this year, our 100+-year-old barn fell.
I was about to go out on the porch and dig into God’s word to clear my mind when I heard the strangest ticking/crashing sound. I went to the porch door, peered out, and the barn was tipping back the whole thing.
After an intense 30 seconds of tipping while I was screaming for my husband- not sure if it was panic or for him to watch the thing tumble, it crashed down in the middle, the sides everywhere.
Nothing like we thought it was going to do. Isn’t that how life is?
After all the nasty dust cleared, I first needed to check for all the barn cats. We have four barn cats and one kitten who loves the old barn. Isn’t that the worst feeling on the farm? But, knowing the reality of death with animals is a daily thing and gearing yourself up for what’s to come.
All cats were okay. We moved our flock of chickens out into the new barn only two months ago. We had a feeling it was going to fall.
The cleanup of the barn is a lot. I knew it would take my husband a good few years to clean it up. But, he doesn’t like to ask for help, and he does like a project.
Two weeks passed of him going out and pulling off barn wood and burning wood, and we realized enough is enough. It’s time to let it go.
Our neighbor mentioned to us having the fire department come and burn the entire thing.
I didn’t hesitate to say, Yes! My husband did. There’s sentiment in a building that someone created so many years ago.
There is a hope that we could get money for the barn? Then, as we get older, we can sift through decisions that cost us time or money.
Valuing time in seasons or cost is hard when you are frugal. When you start spending money on things you know you could do yourself but will cost you so much time.
Sometimes in life, God is asking us to do something. And in those moments when we have clarity, we see what it is he is asking us to do, and we proceed until feelings come up.
If he asks us to go all into the new situation, we may hesitate a little. We may say, “Well I’ll stop doing this and this for sure, but this one, well what harm is it doing?”
Or we may say, “I’ll get rid of this and that, but I’ll hang on to these couple items.”
When God is asking you to trust his entire plan. When he says to you, “Get rid of it all.” Don’t stop midway.
I believe in certain situations when God asks you to go forward in a difficult circumstance, and it’s so outside our comfort zone that we as humans grasp some reality and control.
We have no idea why we lose out on all the other summer activities by choosing to hold on to a few more pieces of the Barnwood or trying to salvage parts. Why? Because we will be too busy reaching for our control.
We will feel content and satisfied at that moment while we reach for those barn wood pieces. It will still take weeks to go through the entire barn and pull out the parts we think we need.
And in that time, we could have been enjoying the blessings God had in store. Not to say those blessings won’t come. Do we honor a loving God or what? Of course, they will, but because of our own choice and control, we delayed them.
I’m ready to trust in God’s goodness and plan thoroughly. I’m prepared to give up my control and the comfort of resting in feelings to His Plan. I’m reminded of past times of taking the step out of my comfort zone for His Plan and loving every minute past the stage of fear.
I want to remind you of those times you felt the blessings of God in such a clear way you immediately had to give him all your praise. Hold on to those moments. Clear away the thoughts that start to ping at your heart, saying, “Was it really God?” Yes.
Because “God can literally do Anything.”
Trust it. Believe it.