A preacher was driving down a country road when he came upon a beautiful farm. It looked like a beautiful painting. It did not look like a new farm, but the house and buildings were well constructed and in perfect paint. A garden around the house was filled with beautiful flowers.
A fine row of trees lined each side of the entrance drive. The fields were beautifully tilled, and a fine herd of fat dairy cattle grazed knee-deep in the pasture. The site was so arresting the preacher stopped to enjoy the scenery.
It was then he noticed the farmer, on a tractor, hard at work, approaching the place where the preacher stood beside his car.
When the farmer got closer, the preacher hailed him. The farmer stopped the tractor, idled down the engine, and then shouted a friendly “hello!”
The preacher said to him, “My good man, God has certainly blessed you with a magnificent farm.”
There was a pause as the farmer took off his cape and shifted in the tractor seat to take a look at his pride and joy.
He then looked at the preacher and said, “Yes, He has, and we’re grateful. But you should have seen this place when He had it all to Himself.”
Such is our life. When we arrive into this world, we are given great gifts and wonderful resources.
Yet, they are often raw.
And, it is our life journey to take what we are given and turn it into something beautiful.
