When I was young, during my teens, our family moved to a home just on the opposite side of the river from downtown. The area was full of homes built in the 1800s for merchants who would ride their horses into where they worked.
Our home, although modernized, had an old barn in the back where they used to keep their horses. It was a two-story barn and the exterior wood was faded gray from years of weathering. Inside, there was a small work area and a rickety wooden stairway leading to the upstairs loft where I feared going. Full of old tools and piles of wood, the loft was dusty and dangerous. One never knew what critters might be living up there; possums, racoons, squirrels, and who knows what else.
Behind the barn, we built a fenced area for the dogs and a dog house inside of a smaller enclosed area to help protect them from the weather. It was my job to clean the dog pen and keep them fed, so I was in and out of that old barn every day (not to mention the trash cans we would keep inside where I would take the trash to or the shovel, snowblower, and riding lawnmower for my other chores).
Over time, I became accustomed to that old barn. The nostalgia of it, and some of the old tools that had been stored in it for so many years, were unique in a world that was so quickly changing. Even at a young age, I learned that something can last a long time if you take care of it. It may have been old, but as we repaired parts that needed it, I could see why it lasted so long.
Thinking about it now, the barn reminds me a little of life. We all have a ‘Barn out back’ in some ways, where we keep those old memories of experiences, some good and some bad, that are no longer in the front of our minds, but ones we still hold onto. It’s where we store all our past hopes and dreams that we just can’t find any room for in our lives anymore. It may even have critters (bad memories) crawling around that we try to avoid, but that make their way out when we least expect them to.
Somewhere in that barn, are the tools we turn to in times of trouble. Even though those tools help us through the difficult times, we put them back in the barn until we need them again. Some tools may be old and dangerous (habits and self-sufficiency). Others may be very helpful and productive in our lives (prayer and faith).
Every so often, we need to clean that old barn. We need to rid it of those old tools that have become dangerous, empty the trash that has built up over time, organize the clutter, and shore up the weak supports so the weight of the world won’t come crashing down on us when it storms.
I’ll always cherish what I learned from that barn. Looking back, I can see that even an old, rotted building can teach lessons to anyone willing to learn. For me, I’m still working on my ‘Old barn’. It’s a work in progress but, thankfully, I have the help of the Master Carpenter.
His strength helps to lift and remove the garbage and old hurts. His light helps to shine on the places of darkness where critters may be living. And, the wind & water of His Spirit help to blow out all the dirt and refresh what’s stale.
The barn out back in my mind & soul doesn’t scare me anymore. It’s only when I leave the door open that darkness and the storms of life can hurt me now. Over the years, it’s become a place of refuge; a place where I know I can go to meet Jesus. He is the master of the barn now and will always be there with me. He fills it with joy, peace, light, and, most of all, He fills it with His love that nothing outside of that barn can bring…
Love always,
Brad
