By Sandy Morgenthal
The farmer stood looking at his barn, or what used to be his barn. It was a shambles, lying in heaps, flattened by the winds that came out of nowhere, what they call a micro blast. This was the sort of wind that took planes down at landing, and it had just destroyed this young farmer’s hopes and dreams.
He and his young wife had bought this farm on a wish and a prayer, figuring if they could get in a good cash crop in the first couple of years, they’d be okay. How were they going to do that without a barn? Barns are essential to farmers and for his plans for building a dairy farm as well. He looked at the wreckage and whispered a silent prayer to God, “I really need Your help.”
He heard a truck pull into the pull-off for the barn. An older man got out and walked toward him. “Hit you hard, did it?” the man said. “Yes indeed,” the young farmer answered. He thought he recognized this man from church. Then a few more cars and trucks pulled in. Pretty soon, there were so many people surveying the damage, the young man lost count, but he recognized them all from having seen their faces in church and at local gatherings.
Galatians 6:2 NLV: “Help each other in trouble and problems. This is the kind of law Christ asks us to obey.”
He wasn’t sure who the first one was to pick up some boards from the rubble and start a lumber pile off to the side; but pretty soon, everyone was doing it. In what seemed such a short time, with so many hands helping, the site was cleared and the salvageable lumber was stacked. The rest went to a fire pile. One by one, they shook his hand and said they’d figure out when they could all come together to rebuild his barn. The young man was quietly weeping by then.
Proverbs 14:31 NIV: “Whoever is kind to the needy honors God.”
When the day arrived, they came to start the barn raising. The men brought all the necessary tools, and the women brought food and all the necessary supplies. There was even singing and joyful sounds to help the men in their work. By sundown, the frame of the barn was raised. In a fairly short time, the young man and his wife had their barn again, and no one would let them pay for anything but the new lumber needed and some roofing and nails. They were overwhelmed. The young man had prayed for God’s help and that is what he got.
Psalm 71:23 CEV: “You have rescued me! I will celebrate and shout, singing praises to you with all my heart.”
God uses us to take care of each other, and together we are more than enough; we are strong.
Henry Ford said, “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.”
B. Simpson said, “Sometimes diamonds are done up in rough packages…”
