Demolition

My husband has been in the midst of a big project...tearing down 2 of our 4 barns. Last March, after an ice storm 2 of our very old barns fell down. This past spring he said that we would have to take them down. I pleaded with him not to (not because I enjoyed looking at the eye soar, but because I know that would take away so much precious family time). The buildings are hidden away behind some trees, so if you look out our front window, you can barely see them. I asked him, "what difference does it make?" Most likely we will never sell our house to another homeowner (as it will probably become commercial and just be torn down any way). But he insisted that they needed to be taken down. Even though they aren't in plain eye's view, he knows they are there. And besides, it could be a liability if someone were to ever come over and get hurt. I finally reluctantly agreed that he should take them down, and began the process of searching for dumpster companies.

I started to think later on that the demolition of these barns was kind of like cutting out the sins in our lives. We share a juicy detail about someone's life, eat a dessert that we know we shouldn't have, or say an innocent seeming lie to cover our tracks....SIN. We know it's ugly like the barns, but no one see's them right? Perhaps they are hidden from the naked eye, and no one really finds out about the sins we commit, but we know they are there. We try and tell ourselves, it was just something small, what difference will it make? However, God does know the difference. He wants us to knock down the barn, and have a clean slate. It isn't an easy task to break the habit of gluteny, gossip, or whatever the problem may be, but we need to continually try and become more like Christ and ask for forgiveness. How fortunate we are that we have a Savior that forgives so readily. And unlike the weeks it will take to knock down these barns, we merely need one prayer to ask for forgiveness and our "barn/sin" will be knocked down in one stroke.

8 comments:

Sarah Markley said...

Wow - you have barns! Multiple, more than one that you can tear down two and still have two left! That's great (but it seems like a lot of work?). I like what you said about tearing down our "barns" - I've just been feeling similarly this week. Thank you for sharing this!

Kris said...

Whoa! Bringing down the barns! Looks like he's accomplished a lot!
k

Renee said...

This is great! Something that is so true. Sin that we think doesn't matter, because nobody else knows about it. But you're so right...God does. And that's what matters.

Thanks for sharing! I love hearing about your home. I'm trying to imagine what your land is like...with 4 barns, and a pumpkin patch. Sounds awesome!

Short Stop said...

Great thoughts, Sarah! What a great reminder to continually be aware of those sins we try to minimize and hide...and to take those to God and ask for forgiveness. I needed to hear that today.

Earen said...

Wow, that was a great post & a wonderful look into barns/sin. You are so right...trying to hide some of our sin & God sees it all. Great insight...thank you for sharing.

Emily Dykstra said...

haha. That looks like such a GUY thing to do. I love it.

Mary@notbefore7 said...

What a good analogy! It is so easy to hide our sins and feel "OK" when beneath the surface there is plenty we need to tear down before a Holy God!

Good luck with the barn tearing down.

I'm Tara. said...

Whew! What a project! You're so right about our own barns -- thanks for making me think tonight on that one!!