Today is my birthday so I’m a little contemplative.
I took this picture a few days ago thinking I feel like that barn.
This barn is old, worn and stood the test of time. It’s a bit haggard yet still does the job. It’s still dependable and has been through many storms and has great stories to tell.
In its heyday, this barn was beautiful. Pristine white with dark shingles to contrast. The doors slid easily and the lofts were full of valuable commodities.
I too am old, worn out yet I’m still standing. And at times I feel haggard but I am blessed with strength and ability to work hard. I would like to think I’m dependable and let me tell you – the stories I have – Oyyyyy!
I wouldn’t say I was ever beautiful but I was less wrinkled and saggy in my heyday. And it took a whole lot less paint to spruce up my boards. My joints moved easier and didn’t complain as much as they do now.
There is beauty in age. As the paint peels off this barn and the boards sag and warp there is still a magnificent building. Many will look upon this barn and go back in time in their mind imagining what has taken place here and who housed their animals here over the years. What was it like living in those days? The stories they would love to hear are deep within the beams that hold the barn up. No one thinks this barn is worthless because of age.
Wouldn’t it be great if we could look at each other and not fault find what we see? Instead of seeing our wrinkles as a detriment let’s see them as lines in our book of life waiting to be shared. Instead of seeing gray hair as something that needs to be changed (which I will probably do until the day I die), let’s see it as advertisement that we’d come a long way and have survived many a storm. Instead of seeing old age as something to avoid, how about with each passing year we celebrate. Let’s have a “we’ve made it through another year” celebration instead of “ughhh another year older” dirge.
So, Happy Birthday to me and everyone else who shares this day of birth.
And, to practice what I preach – I’m 64 today and if you have a minute, I’ve got tales to tell . . .
