Thank You, Big Old Barn

This old barn towers over most every other structure around here.

I can see it from almost every spot on this farm. I can spot it from a long way away when I'm driving home from somewhere. And it's just about the only thing I can see when I'm doing dishes at my kitchen sink.

This barn, with it's rusting roof, peeling paint, and drafty walls is my homing device.

At Thanksgiving we tend to think about the things for which we are thankful... we are usually thankful for friends and family. Maybe health. Brave soldiers fighting to protect our freedom. Some of us are thankful for a home, or a job. And many of us give thanks for the Thanksgiving celebration meal... but this year, I'd also like to give thanks for something less tangible, rather than just the situational things around me.

Which brings me to this barn.

For not only does this barn physically guide me home... but it reminds me to recognize the things inside me that guide me home...

Sorry, people, but homegrown countrygirl gonna get just a little bit spiritual here...

I'm thankful for the beliefs inside of me that guide me "home" in my heart... the things that guide me to be the best me I can be... the things that make me who I am. And the things that help me to be true to myself and my God... no matter what the situation around me.

I can't really put my finger on what those "things" are. They are just what I try to do... to trust. And to love. To have the ability to heal. And willingness to forgive. Truth. Grace. Humility. Goodness. And Hope.

I can, however, put my finger on this barn. And since this barn guides me home it reminds me what "home" is inside of myself... and "home" is those beliefs that remind me that I am never done trying to be the best me that I can be.

So, thank you, big old rusty roofed, peeling paint, drafty walled barn. Thank you for always helping me find my way home.