Never Grow Old

After my mother-in-law’s funeral, our family wanted to take one last look at the farm in Missouri that had impacted so much of our lives.

The weathered chicken house held not only memories of tiny yellow peeping fowl but also outdated farm essentials. Among the treasures were two Ford Model T wheels. Seeing the old farmhouse brought back a trove of memories, but memories alone could not hold up the aging, sagging building. In recent years, family members had painted and patched the house. They had repaired and replaced siding, shingles, and windows. The floor itself had to be replaced, for there was no proper foundation.

The goal was to keep the old house livable for as long as Mom would need it. And family members achieved that goal, for she was able to shelter there until the day came when declining health dictated her needs would be better met if she lived in a nursing home. But the family farm was more than buildings; it included everything that grew there. The acres of soybeans had been essential for the family’s livelihood, as well as the fields of hay. The decades-old oak trees in the front yard had shed wheelbarrows full of acorns. The trees had also provided shade for Sabbath afternoon relaxing.

Every summer there were pots of moss rose in the closest part of the backyard. Tulips grew in an old tire for a few years. At one time, lilacs had grown beside the driveway in the front of the house. Eventually, however, the lilacs had to go because there was not enough room for the combine to pass by. The postfuneral visit to the farm was a time for reflection. Our daughter wanted to have a living piece of her grandma.

Nothing had been blooming around the house since it had been vacated, except for the purple iris by the garden. She found a spade and began digging. These flowers were taken across the country and are blooming again in Oregon.

Today, buildings decay and collapse. Trees often outlive the buildings they surround, but eventually, they, too, will fall. Jesus is preparing mansions for us that will not decay. He has promised that we will eat from the tree of life and never grow old.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Barbara Huff