Treasures in a Barn

I went to a Barn Sale this weekend.  My best description of a Barn Sale is a man's version of a yard sale.  I saw the ordinary things you expect to find in a barn: fishing gear, lighting fixtures, nuts, bolts, hammers, ladders, outdoor furniture, etc.  I also found some extraordinary items as well.  There was an old horse-drawn wagon, an antique writing desk, and an antique wash stand from Germany.  The wash stand looked like a standard waist-high rectangular piece of furniture with double doors at bottom.  I reached to pull out the top drawer and discovered that it swiveled around to reveal two old wash basins.  "Wow" was all I could say.

But without a doubt, the best find at the Barn Sale was not a thing, but a person.  That person was a cherished friend that I had not seen in about a year.  I was thrilled to see her and spent quite some time talking with her and her family.  I ended up buying a few items, but by far my memory of the Barn Sale will be about the person I saw. 

I almost didn't go to the Barn Sale because it was about 40 minutes from my house and with such high gas prices, I did question my sanity in taking the trip.  Was the drive worth the time and the money that I would spend getting there?

Remember the story of the shepherds tending their flocks, then being told by an angel that Christ the Lord was born in Bethlehem.

Luke 2:11-12 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths lying in a manger.

These shepherds knew exactly who they would see in the barn.  Did they talk amongst themselves about the long walk, about needing to rest while the sheep were resting, or about what might happen to their flocks if they left them?  Not at all.

Luke 2:15-16 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, "Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us."  And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. 
  
Like the shepherds, knowing who was going to greet me at the end of my trip to the Barn Sale would have made all of my second guessing disappear.  But best of all, knowing that Christ will greet us at the end of our earthly journey removes any doubts about the journey itself.

John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.