Coffeetime: "That ain't no barn!"

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Six-year-old Darren was on a first-time visit to the farm. His Pappa had arranged for him to get to see a part of this world that Darren never even knew existed. A real live working farm with all the corrals, fields, outbuildings and animals that a farm needs. Including horses.

Darren spent an hour or so tentatively getting to know the horses that looked like giants to the tiny boy on the ground beside them. But every offer from the owners of the farm to let him ride one of the older gentler horses was meant with a shy smile and a quick negative shake of his blond head.

But yet, he couldn’t be persuaded to leave the horse corrals, and ignored all their suggestions to go see the pigs, cows, and the rest of the animal clan. Intimidated as he was, Darren still was fascinated with the size and height of those huge animals.

Finally, the lady of the farm had an idea. Murmuring to her husband, she then turned and smiled down at Darren and said she would be right back. That she had to go to the barn for something.

Darren watched her retreating back as she headed directly to one of the outbuildings that housed the horse tack. When she disappeared inside, he turned to the farmer with a disappointed look on his little sunburned face.  So naturally, the farmer asked him what was the problem.

There was definite disbelief and a faint tinge of disgust in his voice when he answered, "Oh man, she can't be going to no barn! Barns are always red and white. That building ain’t red, an there ain’t no white trim. "

It took the farmer a little while to make the little boy understand that barns are barns, no matter the color. It is only the contents that matter.

My point: Are we going to be like that six-year-old all our lives – believing that truth can only be from our point of view? Understandable coming from a six-year-old, but not from you or me.

There is one truth that I believe we can stand upon, and that is this;

I am not always going to be one-hundred per cent correct. And most likely, neither are you. None of us have cornered the market on knowing what is right in every situation. And most of our quarrels and disputes are centered on that very fact. Be it countries, siblings, friends, denominations, or neighbors.

Somehow, we let ourself believe that what we have learned in life has to be the only reality.  Like a favorite friend of mine has been known to say, “My way, or the highway.” Seems logical, until you run into someone just as mule-headed. Unfortunately, it can be the highway way too often, if that’s how we live. A lot of good relationships can get tossed to the garbage heap with that philosophy.

Just remember. I’m not God, and neither are you.