An old, red, wooden barn and three blue silos are icons of
my childhood. I can’t count the times I
walked into that feedway to help feed ground feed to bulls, or how many times
it was my job to stand watching over the filling waterbox. The blue silos were like a homing beacon as
to how close we were back to the main part of the farm. And most of the time I was helping with
chores in the “red barn” it was with my Papaw who always worked in blue, denim,
Key brand overalls- those were the icon of his chore wardrobe.
This week I brought (a) and (b) to come spend a few days
with their grandparents in Indiana. As
we were out on a pony riding adventure, I took (a) to visit the old, red
barn. The decades and the elements aren’t
kind to old wooden barns, and it hasn’t been in use for many years now. But he had fun opening the walk-through gates
and adventuring into the old pens. He
walked up and down the concrete feedway looking for treasurers and asked 4,284
questions, many of which I did not have answers to, but many of which I could
tell stories from my time standing in that same spot as a child. I hadn’t thought much about their outfits
that day, but (a) had chosen to wear his “God Bless the Farmer” t-shirt, and (b)
was wearing his blue overall shorts… though neither of them were too excited
about a picture, I had to take one anyway, there were so many iconic pieces of
my heart all together in one place.
This coming weekend my parents will celebrate their 40th
Wedding Anniversary. Through those years
they have been icons to me of what a successful marriage looks like. They work as a pretty great team and together
have raised three pretty cool women, navigated the ups and downs of the cattle
markets, planting & harvest seasons, volunteered innumerable hours of time and
energy for their church, Junior Angus members, and many other agriculture organizations. They have supported each other’s careers and
achievements, they have always parented with a united front, set the example of
an enormous work ethic, and never hid their love and affection from us. They were the pillars of instilling their faith
in us and showed us the strength and value in standing as a family.
Those icons in my life served as reminders and markers of
goals… reminders of values and character traits I want to stand for, of things
I want to pass on to my boys, of who I want to be a role model as. They always bring back a sense of security
and keep me grounded. It reminds me of
the legacy discussed in the book of Deuteronomy where God’s people were told to
impress His commandments on their hearts and pass them down to their
children. The faith values and family
values that were passed on to me through my parents’ marriage and our farm
upbringing will always be on my heart, and I can only pray that (A) and I will
be able to establish those kinds of iconic values in our boys as well.
“These commandments that I give you today are to be on
your hearts. Impress them on your
children. Talk about them when you sit
at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get
up. Tie them as symbols on your hands
and bind them on your foreheads. Write
them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:6-9
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