PHOTO BY BRAD CAMPBELL A barn south of Pigeon Forge

Hi, all! 

The road is fairly narrow. It is just about 15 miles in distance, but it has many sharp turns. Winding through Wears Valley, Tennessee, this particular road runs from Townsend north to Pigeon Forge. Wildlife is abundant in this area of the Great Smoky Mountains. Alas, so is the car traffic. But if you can get out of the crowds for a while and just ride, you can encounter the Lord in so many ways and places.

Just off the pavement, in one specific sharp turn of the road, sits a small older church building that has been in use about 125 years. Adjacent to the building, sloping down the hillside, is a very well-kept cemetery, presumably mostly for those church members and their families. Turn off the highway and head down the hill, and you’ll see something very similar to any other area of that part of the state — pasture land, horses, and an old barn.

The old barn, as you can see here, has seen its better days. Barns don’t receive the same upkeep and care that a church building normally would. The barn’s old tin roof is bent and twisted in places. I would venture to say the rain blows in around the rafters sometimes. No doubt, hay is stored underneath the barn’s roof, keeping it dry for animals to feed upon later. The barn has been well used, beaten up by time and weather. It isn’t sound proof, water proof, or weather proof. It leaks, creaks, and bends during the hard storms that blow through those mountain valleys. Yet, it stands strong, has no doubt seen several generations, and is in no immediate danger of decay or demise.

I wonder how many of our older generation think their usefulness is dwindling. As I’m certainly in the second half of my days on this earth, I, like so many of you, deal with the aches and pains, disappointments and disillusionments, but keep going. Why? Because, if the Lord was finished with me, He would pull me out of here.

We may not stand as strong, tall, and proud as we once did, but the main thing is that we continue to stand. Our facade may have faded, but our framework holds together. Our busy-ness may have slowed, but our usefulness is everlasting. Until He calls us Home, we have work to do. It may be to simply hold on the best we can and keep the hay dry for the younger ones — constantly showing them the Way, the Truth, and the Life as we have experienced it!

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that age and infirmity make you no longer useful to the Lord. We need prayer warriors around every bend in the road, over the mountains, and down in those valleys. Hold strong. Carry on. He’s not done with you yet!

Just a thought. ’Til later.

Brad Campbell can be reached at mastah.pastah@yahoo.com.