ART & INSPIRATION BY PAUL & KATHY BOECHER©  Watercolor sketch painted plein air.

The old round barn has been the site of many of Paul’s paintings recently.  It used to serve its purpose as a working farm, but today it sits in the midst of a suburban residential area, next to a senior living residence and some busy strip malls.  Inside it’s been converted into a delightful shopping destination.  The wares include the shabby sheik, which has gained popularity lately.

You can find old silverware crafted into jewelry – antiques which have been cleaned up and are perfect for a country kitchen.  Signs with Bible verses and inspirational sayings are interspersed along with furniture crafted by local artisans.  Paul loves to sketch and paint it, because of its unique shape and beauty.  I love to visit it for ideas and gift shopping for someone who has everything.  It offers something old and something new.

Mixing old with new is something we don’t usually think about in a positive way. Trying to make something new again out of something old, is often seen as futile.  Practicality  tells us that eventually the old will wear out.  However, sometimes old things still have some life in them and serve a purpose for a time.  Just like us old fogies who seem to appear useless to those at the peak of their existence.

As I posted yesterday, growing into the golden years can be frustrating, a death sentence or a giving up period for some – or it can be an opportunity to do so much more than you ever had time to do in your mid-life years.  I prefer the second option. When I have too much time on my hands, my thinking often turns negative.

There are so many ways to insert our retired selves back into society.  We can volunteer for many things.  We can take up a new hobby.  We can spend quality time with our grandchildren.  We can become more involved in our church work.  We can get a jobk which most of us have to today in order to survive.  And here’s an idea – we have a lifetime of knowledge and wisdom stored up in these elderly minds of ours – how about we share those things with someone who’s just starting their young lives.  Mentoring is something we don’t think about much as we age, but doing so  could encourage, inspire, teach, guide and influence young minds that may be struggling right now.

Like that old round barn, we can serve a useful purpose in many ways.  God even suggests it in His Word:

Psalm 71:18  “So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might to another generation; your power to all those to come.”