The more I see of San Francisco, the more content I am with raising chickens.
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Before we moved from Tuscaloosa, AL, I was sitting in the doctor’s office waiting to be seen. It was concerning Charlotte. Of course, I didn’t know her name at the time because she would not make her debut for two more years. My heart was sinking. I wanted out of the traffic, a country life that gave me space, and another baby; all which seemed impossible.
Impossible is where miracles live
On the cusp of all my thoughts, Chuck and I were deciding if we would sell our home that year or not. We had so many questions and no answers. With all these thoughts I sat, waiting my turn to see my doctor.
In that moment I received an email from my father that gave Chuck and I the courage to begin taking steps that would change our lives forever. I want to share it with you. It is a journal entry I will cherish forever. It changed our course and sailed us away from the shore- never to return again.
Purchase both Home Sweet Home Books I and II personally from me or locally at the Book Inn or Heaven’s Nectar or on Amazon!
“The barge is better!” The words were echoing in my mind. As I sat overlooking the Ohio River from my Owensboro, KY riverfront hotel room, a slow-moving barge crosses my window in the predawn light. Watching its slow progress up river, and against the current, a thought occurred to me. If given the choice between jet ski, speed boat and barge, I would not choose to be a barge. I would be far more likely to be a ski boat or jet ski. Think of the fun and entertainment either of those two could provide.
And yet the barge, in all of its slow movement and unexciting churning, is the more effective of the three. The speed boat is exciting to take up the river on a short ride or pull someone on skies or a tube. The jet ski, with its agility can jump the wake of the slow steady barge and spray water in the air as it impresses those looking on. People on the barge could easily look at the twisting, jumping jet ski and think, “What fun it would be to be able to do that! I could impress everyone with my skill and talent.” As the speed boat races laps around the slow steady barge, its occupants could play their music loud, wave and shout at those on the barge, “We’ll see you at the finish line!”
As I sat in the darkness of my room watching the lights of the barge slowly churn upriver, it was a silent progression. No one was cheering or applauding. I could hear nothing through the glass of my room window. Yet just beyond the glass would be the sound of huge diesel engines, pumping out hundreds of horsepower and still only seeing a few knots per hour of progress. Even with all its power, against the current of the river, the displacement of water, and the sheer weight of the load, progress is limited. The speed is less than 10 kts per hour but for the barge it’s not about the speed but the results.
It’s true, the jet ski and speed boat are sleeker, faster, more entertaining and alluring. Even the thought of being a barge leaves an undesirable taste in my mouth, yet there are those words again, “The barge is better.”
As I ponder the statement and consider the implications I hear the following, “While the jet ski may entertain a crowd, the barge could feed them. With the payload ability of the barge, enough food could be transported, to feed an entire city. A barge can carry enough crude oil to fill every gas tank in town for months. It can carry enough coal to generate electricity to light, heat and cool a city for weeks. Still want to be the jet ski?” I can be a performer or a producer. Being a producer makes the greater difference.
It’s the tortoise and the hare lesson all over again. While the spray of water coming from the jet ski, tastes sweet on my lips, it is the steady churning of the barge that leaves the greater wake.
I want my life to leave something that will not be forgotten. Long after the applause for entertainment has died, something with life changing content must be left. If I’m to leave a legacy – I must live a legacy first. I want to leave an impact that will provide life giving sustenance for those waiting ahead and coming behind. I will choose what will leave the biggest wake.
Jim Stockdale
I often think about the barge when I hear the creek gurgling in the front yard as my girls swing out over it, and the sound of a woodpecker echoes through the valley. I smile to myself; knowing I chose well. The sunset is beautiful out here – away from the shore.
Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on the great waters. These see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep. Psalms 107:23-24
