Ride Across America: Greenbank to St. Catharines -- The Life of a Barn

I love barns. I'm not sure whether it has to do with growing up in southwestern Michigan, an area filled with all kinds of farms and farm buildings. Perhaps it has to do with my Dad's stories about working on a farm as a boy or exploring my grandfather's barn in Eaton Rapids, Michigan. I love the smells; I love the various shapes they take; I enjoy seeing the different constructions and colors. For a guy who likes to see different barns, taking a bike ride on rural country roads is a visual extravaganza. Over the last five days, we've seen literally hundreds of barns: red, green, brown, white, black and yellow barns; 0nes with all different animals and farm implements.

But as we traveled through the countryside on our way to St. Catharines today -- with perfect temperature, blue skies and relief from the boisterous winds we've been working against -- I realized there may be something a bit more fundamental about the appeal of barns than their colors, shapes and sizes. As we talked about it, barns are solid, sturdy, made to last generations. They seem built to weather storms, to withstand rain and snow and the winds that come and go. They seem like a place where people roll up their sleeves to work hard and get meaningful work done, often working together as family. Although the analogy is imperfect, it struck me today that there is a parallel in those qualities in our reading about Abraham. When called by God to go to an unknown land, Abraham went. When called to sacrifice his son, Isaac, Abraham responded in obedience. Despite the winds that blew, Abraham was solid, sturdy and acted in faith. He must have listened intently to God's voice. And through his strength and faithfulness, his children and generations upon generations were blessed.

I want to emulate characteristics we see in barns: solid, sturdy, unwavering, strong, built on a firm foundation. With much room to grow, I want to share Abraham's depth of faith and respond in obedience even when asked to go to an unknown place and pray that our children and their generations will be blessed by the foundation we set. Julie says that "every barn tells a story". What story do you want your life to reflect?

P.S. we saw a sign today for the "Peterborough Curling Club" (a bit like shuffleboard on ice) -- never seen a sign for curling. Second, lots of yellow butterflies today. Third, Mr. East continues to request that I post a picture showing him in the lead. Below you'll see him moving out downhill (there's a physics problem for our students just calling out to be solved). And lastly, but most importantly, a special thanks to Zieg and Margaret Puddel for their generous hospitality this evening and in helping us with arrangements in Canada. It takes but an instant to see that they give of themselves generously and have a home filled with love, family and intent on living out their faith (in part by showing extreme kindness to strangers). Thanks so much for your encouragement and example.