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“A
pastor of a small church would occasionally call on one gentleman to pray, and
every time this one particular guy would pray, he would pray, “Oh God, thank
you for this word today, and bless these people today.” Then he would end with
the strangest statement, “And, oh God, oh Lord, prop us up on our leaning
side.” Every time the preacher would call on him, he’d pray, “Oh Lord, prop us
up on our leaning side.”
Finally,
the pastor pulled him aside, and he said, “I love the way you pray, but I don’t
understand your little closing phrase. What are you talking about – prop us up
on our leaning side?” He responded, “Well, Pastor, I’m a farmer. I live out on
the farm and, you know, I live in the country. I’ve got an old barn, and it’s
been there a long time. It’s been through a lot of weather, and a lot of
storms, and a lot of bugs have eaten at it.”
He
said, “I got to looking at it one day when I was riding on my tractor, and I
noticed that it was leaning to one side. So I thought to myself, oh my
goodness! The barn is leaning, and it’s a matter of time before the whole thing
falls.
He
continued, “So, you know what I did? I went and got some pine beams, and I
propped it up on its leaning side.” He said, “It still leans, and probably
always will. But I propped it up on its leaning side. And it’s not going to
fall down because I propped it up on its leaning side. And I got to thinking
about it.
When
I was on the tractor, Pastor, and I was riding in the field, I thought about
the kind of year I’ve had, and some of the storms I’ve been through, and some
of the people that are bugging me, and eating away at my joy and eating away at
my spirit. And I just got to thinking, you know, I’m still here! I’m still
standing after all that stuff I’ve been through. The storms, and the howling
winds – they couldn’t topple me. I’m still standing by the grace of God.”
He
concluded, “From time to time, I find myself leaning. Leaning toward my old
desires, leaning toward anger, leaning toward becoming bitter or hateful at the
people who are bugging me, or leaning toward going back to the old habits and
the old life I used to have. And when I feel myself start leaning toward that
tendency, I just remember that old barn, and I pray out loud on my tractor –
“Lord, I thank you that you’re going to prop me up on my leaning side.””
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