What’s Your Preference?

angeleyes216 · #1 (**permalink**) 07-28-2009, 12:07 PM

My sister sent me the poem about the old barn and i really liked it so i thought i would share it with you. Gave me something to think about ..

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 a funny idea of beauty.
Sure, it was a handsome building in its day. But then, there's
Been a lot of winters pass with their snow and ice and howling wind.
The summer sun's beat down on that old barn till all the paint's
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..
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 the weather, bearing the storms and
Scorching sun, only that can produce beautiful barn wood.
It came to me then. We're 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 weather of our lives,
The dry spells and the stormy seasons to do a job of beautifying
Our souls that nothing else can produce.

And to think how often folks holler 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
Then for the seasons we've been through here...
And just maybe even add a bit of beauty to our Father's house.

FromtheBackofaHorse · #2 (**permalink**) 07-28-2009, 12:44 PM

Wow...To both the poem and the photo. Now you are going to have me thinking about this all day long.

fstopMike · #3 (**permalink**) 07-28-2009, 12:50 PM

Nice picture and poem to go along with it. Sets me to thinking...

angeleyes216 · #4 (**permalink**) 07-28-2009, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FromtheBackofaHorse

Wow...To both the poem and the photo. Now you are going to have me thinking about this all day long.

I was having a bad day and it got me thinking so thats why i thought id share it ..i dont usually do such a long posting but i really liked it

Lori

angeleyes216 · #5 (**permalink**) 07-28-2009, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fstopMike

Nice picture and poem to go along with it. Sets me to thinking...

got me thinking too, something i dont do too much lol

lindyannajones · #6 (**permalink**) 07-28-2009, 01:33 PM

Lori, It's a beautiful poem and a lovely way to start a day, a year, a new decade. I thank you so much for sharing this. It goes really well with your photo and I like your choice of a winter vs a summer scene. It must be wonderful to have a sister who knows your heart.

angeleyes216 · #7 (**permalink**) 07-28-2009, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lindyannajones

Lori, It's a beautiful poem and a lovely way to start a day, a year, a new decade. I thank you so much for sharing this. It goes really well with your photo and I like your choice of a winter vs a summer scene. It must be wonderful to have a sister who knows your heart.

Hello Linda..i think my mind is on winter as we have had hardly any summer this year and it seems like an early fall is on the way. My sister and i amazingly think so much alike. At times i think we should have been twins..scary thought for my mother as we were the handfuls and our other sister the quiet no trouble child