For the Ages
July 13
Do not remove an ancient boundary stone set up by your forefathers.
Proverbs 22:28
Lawrence was having a revelation as he leafed through the magazine. Beautiful,
well-manicured farms were showcased in this month’s issue. Two in particular
stood out as his favorites, their moss-covered boundaries bringing nostalgic
reminiscence.
His father had cautioned him to leave the stone fences outlining the prop-
erty intact. “You’ll miss them someday if you don’t, Lawrence,” he’d said. “And
an awful lot of work went into erecting them. It’d be a shame to lose ’em.”
The local stone quarry was paying good money for pallets of stone. They
bought the stones because it removed the raw harvest portion from the process
at the quarry, saving them machine usage and man-hours. They were more than
willing to pay for stones from the fences of the countryside. The fences would
always offer a quick way to make money.
Well, Lawrence hadn’t listened to his father. Constantly repairing the gaps
in the rocks where livestock tried to escape had been an aggravation. The same
year he inherited the farm, he began hauling away the stones. He wanted to
replace the rocks with up-to-date fences. “And besides,” he told himself, “the
money will help make the necessary upgrades.” The truth was, he still had to
mend fences. Broken wire didn’t stop wandering animals either.
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Each generation believes it has a better plan. So we set about re-laying the
foundations laid before us. And without much thought as to the why, we set
our minds to the task of making it ours! In the process, we sometimes lose pre-
cious ground our forefathers labored to gain on our behalf.
Youth is wonderful, yet impetuous. We have the curiosity and desire to do
great things, yet have not gained enough wisdom to temper our actions. We
haven’t lived enough to understand that some things should be left alone.
Heritage is a gift to be cherished, not a slight against our character. We are
to build upon the past in hopes of providing a better future. If we must make it
ours, then we should do it in connection with the past, not in place of it.
Prayer
“Thank You for my heritage, Lord. Upon it, with Your
guidance, we shall build a future for the ages. Amen. “
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