I got up early to watch the sun paint the skies. There was a coolness in the air and dew was heavy. It reminded me that fall is just around the corner. The beautiful kaleidoscope of colors that paint the trees and then lay their many colored quilts upon the ground is not far away. Fall brings a season of change. The wind blows, carrying whispers of tomorrow. The seasons each change with their own beauty. Warm spring raindrops soften my heart and feel so refreshing while signaling new beginnings. Snowflakes of winter touch you, speaking to you without words. I’m looking down the fence row at a friend’s farm pond. The cedars are gnarled, bent and twisted from standing against the storms. I smell the sweet smell of honeysuckle, hear the roar of thunder, see the fire in lightning, and hear the songs they sing. Don’t miss nature. Sit somewhere and watch and listen.
I sit in my truck and looked down the fencerow for a long time. The fencerow ran down through the pasture to the farm pond I either fish in or just lollygag around doing nothing at times. I had not paid much attention to the fence row before, but like the ripples on the pond that reminds me of idle talk that spreads with the telling. This day it got my thoughts running. And the thought comes to mind that we are all like the cedars, bent and twisted in our own struggles. We all have heartbreaks, disappointments, and struggles. But each of us has a choice about whether we let those things destroy us or be like the old gnarly cedars on the fence row. Stand tall and strong in the wind, still green even in the winter. A fence row alongside a dirt road is genuine country. Throw in a weathered barn and some oak trees and you have the near-perfect country setting. And also I have had long talks with fence posts and never an argument. Today folks seem to want to get offended by what you say that doesn’t suit them. The fence post is a good listener and never talks back. And you can lean on them and just listen. You might say what are you listening for? Does it really matter? For instance, you might hear a red tail hawk high overhead, and be reminded of the freedom we felt in our youth to fly high and make our dreams come true. Or maybe you will hear the whisper of wind in the pines and cedars or the wonderful music the birds sing for us. Or you may hear nothing at all, but feel the presence of the Master Creator. And you will walk away knowing that you will be back to lean and listen once more.
Our folks in times past built their fences strictly out of wood. They split cedar and locust and crisscrossed their posts so no nails or wire were needed. Again, an example of just making do with what they had.
And I thought, what is a fencerow anyhow? A fence is made to hold things in, but also to keep things out. A limitation to how far you can go. In land ownership, it can be a boundary line. We build fences, invisible fences around us sometimes. And in today’s world we should have boundaries. Applied to life it reminds me of what I will and will not accept. Solitude and silence are a necessity, I think for me. In stillness we can find wisdom, in quietness, we can find peace and life becomes simpler. I find I am never alone. It is a place of encounter with the Master Creator, and there are no boundaries or limitations to His Grace. So I want to stay within the fences I have built, in my peaceful place, and let the Master take care of the Hawks and intruders who try to tear the fences down.
I can only wander through the woods, swing on grapevines, go pin hook fishing, or pick blackberries and creasy greens for Mom in my thoughts now. I have joined the ranks of the old folks. I have seen the wonders of youth and old age blended into one. My face and hands are wrinkled. Laughter and tear lines are many on my face, but my heart is as young as yesterday. I can still climb trees and dance to shag music in my mind. I hope our young folks make good memories to sustain them in their old age, memories of their families and their stories, and all that it was.
I love the simplicity of folks. Like the old man on a park bench or sitting on a porch whittling on a stick, making nothing, alone in his thoughts. Or a Grandmother teaching a Granddaughter how to quilt or how to make a pie or sew a button on. I love the idea of kids chasing lightning bugs, wading a creek, or reading a good book behind the wood cookstove as I did. No cell phones are involved, just at ease with God’s Creation.
The fences I have built have gates to allow folks to come into my life. Friends and family and those folks who bring joy and laughter with them where ever they go. My fences are designed to keep negative and doomsday philosophizes out. The wire is pretty tight on my fences, but I’m just like most of you. I let my emotions get away with me at times, especially at injustices concerning our children and our country. I am a patriot in that I still believe in our youth and our country. I look down the fence line and some cedars are old and broken, there is no energy or need to reset posts or tighten the wire. I’ll just find a listening post that’s still standing and tell it about my dreams for a better tomorrow for our country and our young folks.