For nearly twenty years, my daddy worked in a local feed mill. When I was a little boy, he told stories of working in all types of weather conditions scooping corn, bagging feed for farmers for their livestock, driving trucks for deliveries to those farmers, and doing all sorts of laborious tasks in a dusty & dirty workplace that required grit and perseverance all for very low wages. My dad used to like to tell me how he would “wear out” the tops of his work boots. He would steady a large bag on top of his boot, position the bag at the end of a shoot, and catch ground up corn in the bag. He would do this so much that the tops of boots would become worn rather than the bottoms! I don’t know much about the feed mill profession, but that’s a lot of corn bagging!
A few days ago, a co-worker of mine who knew my dad texted me and told me the old feed mill was being torn down. My mind immediately went back to my daddy’s stories, sacrifice, and hard work. I drove by later in the day after receiving the text and took several pictures to go with others I have taken over the years of this place. Each time I positioned my phone for each picture, my imagination kicked in and I could only think of my dad walking around that place, doing his best for a job that most wouldn’t do then or now. The walls are on the ground, the roof of the main building has been ripped up, and some of the material is stacked on the property which will be reused or repurposed for the new owner’s plans somewhere else.
What’s the point? Soon, the buildings of that business will be on the ground and probably within two to three months, the entire lot will be cleared for someone else’s new business and the ground will take on new life as the past of those who walked it will continue to fade into distant memories. The spiritual application is this, nothing on earth lasts forever. Solomon reminds us in Ecclesiastes that we are all “chasing the wind” as nothing is new “under the sun.” How are we spending our time? Are we so focused on the present that we aren’t preparing for the future when our time is over? What type of influence or legacy are we leaving behind? Ecclesiastes 4:4 says, “Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping the wind.”
The old feed mill will be no longer within a few more sunsets. I am once again being taught what lasts is influence on others, our growing faith in Christ, and footsteps for others to follow. Jesus tells us He is The Way! Jesus gave up the glory of Heaven (Luke 19:10), He gave up divine image (Philippians 2:5-7), and gave up His life (John 10:17-19).
My daddy has been gone almost thirty-three years. As I have grown older, all I ever wanted to be was, “as good as him” because of his sacrifice for me. As a Christian, I realize the sacrifice Jesus made for us and all I ever need is seek Him. We can know how to live on this earth while preparing to be with Him forever if we will be loyal to Him. I am seeing what’s left after the building is gone. The challenge for us is, what are we leaving for others when we are gone?
