Every old shed has a story … a unique story. Someone built it; someone lived and worked within its walls. Someone sheltered beneath that now-rust-covered roof.
If you listen carefully you might hear the drone of the shears and the banter of the shearers as they work through the heat of the day … or the voices of children playing amongst the scattered wool when the men are long gone and the shadows lengthen.
Or maybe it's the hammer on the anvil, the sound of saw-teeth ripping through timber or the lowing of cows coming home for milking. Perhaps you’ll hear a mother calling her family for the evening meal.
Sheds have seen it all, the good times and the lean ones too. They’ve heard words of despair in times of drought, been a shelter for a farmer when, head in hands, he felt like giving up … stood solid through it all.
Been there when a new day dawned.
Now they lie abandoned. But for me there’s beauty in peeling paint and rusting iron. Weathering has brought its own loveliness … mellow and inviting … a sense of mystery as I imagine their story. Someone said that age is a work of art and that’s just what old sheds are for me.
They stand as a reminder of the past … monuments to those courageous and determined souls who worked the land providing a life for their families and prosperity for this country.
Or maybe it's the hammer on the anvil, the sound of saw-teeth ripping through timber or the lowing of cows coming home for milking. Perhaps you’ll hear a mother calling her family for the evening meal.
Sheds have seen it all, the good times and the lean ones too. They’ve heard words of despair in times of drought, been a shelter for a farmer when, head in hands, he felt like giving up … stood solid through it all.
Been there when a new day dawned.
Now they lie abandoned. But for me there’s beauty in peeling paint and rusting iron. Weathering has brought its own loveliness … mellow and inviting … a sense of mystery as I imagine their story. Someone said that age is a work of art and that’s just what old sheds are for me.
They stand as a reminder of the past … monuments to those courageous and determined souls who worked the land providing a life for their families and prosperity for this country.
The first shed (image) on this blog was once a thriving shearing shed which had fallen into disrepair. It has now been rebuilt from the original materials and given a new chapter of its life (the image above).
It reminds me of Robert De Niro in The Intern. He's a 70 year old retiree who takes on the role of senior intern to Anne Hathaway who runs an online fashion house. It's a delightful story of a man who gets to share the wisdom, knowledge and experience of a lifetime, in a whole new unexpected chapter of his life. He becomes an asset to the company and eventually a good friend and right hand man to his young female boss. He brings insight, graciousness and patience to a frenetic workplace and 'surprisingly' the young workforce discovers that age has a great deal to offer.
That's the beauty of age, you have the opportunity to invest the knowledge and skills learnt along the way through life to inspire and encourage others. Last week I had the thrill of helping my granddaughter establish a veggie garden. I was able to share what I've learnt from a lifetime of gardening experience and lots of trial and error.
It reminds me of Robert De Niro in The Intern. He's a 70 year old retiree who takes on the role of senior intern to Anne Hathaway who runs an online fashion house. It's a delightful story of a man who gets to share the wisdom, knowledge and experience of a lifetime, in a whole new unexpected chapter of his life. He becomes an asset to the company and eventually a good friend and right hand man to his young female boss. He brings insight, graciousness and patience to a frenetic workplace and 'surprisingly' the young workforce discovers that age has a great deal to offer.
That's the beauty of age, you have the opportunity to invest the knowledge and skills learnt along the way through life to inspire and encourage others. Last week I had the thrill of helping my granddaughter establish a veggie garden. I was able to share what I've learnt from a lifetime of gardening experience and lots of trial and error.
If ageing is a work of art, then each of us is being sculptured by the experiences of life. More often than not it's the times of 'drought' or 'flood' that stretch us to be more than we thought possible.
But the universal truth is that we are all ageing and our stories are shaping us ... the decisions we make, our reactions and responses, our thoughts and the motivations of our heart. Our stories are unique and so are the circumstances that make us who we are becoming.
I hope that the lines and wrinkles, the sags and fading are just the 'peeling paint' and 'rusting roof' of life's weathering and that the real beauty God is developing in my life is a more gentle, kind, grateful, generous and compassionate soul.
But the universal truth is that we are all ageing and our stories are shaping us ... the decisions we make, our reactions and responses, our thoughts and the motivations of our heart. Our stories are unique and so are the circumstances that make us who we are becoming.
I hope that the lines and wrinkles, the sags and fading are just the 'peeling paint' and 'rusting roof' of life's weathering and that the real beauty God is developing in my life is a more gentle, kind, grateful, generous and compassionate soul.
This shed looks like it might have a new chapter of its life. I wonder what that will be?
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