BARNS, BOARDS, AND BEAUTY

365 Days of Thanksliving — Day 271

I had an epiphany over the last couple of days—well, maybe more like a reawakened revelation. As I’ve slowed down to proverbially “smell the roses,” I’ve started seeing design details everywhere. Especially on barns. Yup. You read that correctly. Barns.

You don’t say, Jason. Yup! Go ahead and hand me my “Captain Obvious” award. I’m finally noticing what the rest of you have probably spotted all along. Call me slow. Anyway…

While I probably shouldn’t be doing this while hurtling down the highway at 55-plus, I keep staring at every passing barn just to catch the details. I should definitely knock it off, because I tend to steer the wheel in whichever direction I’m looking. I’m blaming that on it being a dude thing, but I digress.

You know this already: I like photographing barns, especially the older, dilapidated ones. But even the well-maintained, purely functional barns can be downright cool. Again, I know, another Captain Obvious moment.

So… I looked this up, and I’m just hoping the AI isn’t pulling my leg. I’ve started noticing on the faces of many barns, just above the main doors, a large, four-sided square or diamond filled with colorful shapes. The design is different on each one, and a lot of them look exactly like quilt patterns.

According to my AI digging, those are literally called “barn quilts.” The reasons? ‘Family Tributes,’ ‘Agricultural Pride,’ and ‘Tourism and Community.’ Gemini actually spit this out: “…in 2001 in Adams County, Ohio, a woman named Donna Sue Groves wanted to honor her mother, Maxine, who was a master quilter. She painted an 'Ohio Star' quilt block on her tobacco barn. Her neighbors loved it, she helped them paint their own, and they organized a driving trail for tourists. The idea exploded. Today, there are over 7,000 barn quilts organized into trails across 48 states and parts of Canada.”

I find that absolutely fascinating, assuming the robot overlords aren't lying to me. Honestly, it makes me want to just go out, find them, photograph them, and tell the stories behind the designs. (That’d be an interesting project, wouldn’t it?)

Anywho… I’m thankful for the wildly different designs on so many of our nation’s barns. But it’s not just barns; it’s in everything, really. And that goes straight to the heart of the human soul, spirit, and eye: the desire to design with beautiful intricacy, just as we’ve been designed by the Great Designer.

Today, I’m thankful that God wonderfully crafted us and put within us the desire to design just as He intelligently designs. Can you imagine a world where the urge to create was nonexistent? It’d be lifeless, boring, ugly, and gray. But thanks be to God. Because of Him, there is a desire within us all to design and create in a way that glorifies our Creator—and makes even a Homer like me stop, pause, and say, “Look at the beauty of that craftsmanship.”

Tell me: How do you like to design and create?