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Building Material

By Ken Pierpont

Just a few weeks of my life were spent with my grandfather on the farm though we
visited as often as we could. Grandpa Pierpont took it upon himself to teach me

things almost continuously while I was there. He taught me to catch catfish,
bluegill, crappy, and bass. He taught me to catch and clean a turtle. (Did you
know there are fourteen different kinds of meat in a turtle). He showed me how
to find edible puff-balls and mushrooms and fry them in batter with the fish. He
tried valiantly to teach me to weed the garden and pick the green beans without
missing a single one—this without any real success. He showed me how to
plant trees. He inspired me to start a business selling hickory nuts.

He patiently thought me, at great peril to himself, how to dive the Massey-Ferguson,
even though I was the slowest of learners. Two or three times I narrowly escaped
serious disaster. He taught me to ride a pony and get back on after I was thrown
to the ground. He gave me detailed lessons in meteorology most of which was over my head.

I watched in wide-eyed wordless wonder at the beginning of the calf-producing
process and then, wide-eyed, I watched again as my grandfather demonstrated
a few very graphic birthing techniques in the middle of one cold spring night. On
the way back to my warm bed he launched into an impromptu lecture on the
whole process of cattle reproduction that was memorable to say the least.  

He sang old folk songs, and told funny stories that it would be impossible for
me to forget simply because he repeated them so often. I learned how to get
a bail of hay on the wagon, even if it weighed almost as much as I did. I learned
names of birds, plants, and trees. I'm sure I am the only one of my peers who
knew the details of the blight that swept though the Midwest shortly after the turn
of the century and in thirty-five to forty years made the American Chestnut almost extinct.

Grandpa told me stories of natural history, and tales of World War II in the
South Pacific—in riveting, first-person narrative. He told me stories of the antics of
his youth he would have thrashed me for repeating. He threatened me frequently
with beatings and whippings, but I could not have imagined disobeying him or
challenging his authority for a minute. In all his life he never laid a disciplinary
and on me. My admiration for him was boundless. The influence of those weeks
on the farm was all out of proportion to the amount of time spent there. I've nearly
written a book about it.

When Grandpa needed to repair something he rarely went to the hardware or
farm supply store. He salvaged and improvised and fabricated with materials he
had. His workshop was piled with things he had rescued from old buildings and
implements over the years. The floor of the garage was jammed with five-gallon
buckets filled with parts and hardware, and fasteners and inexplicable paraphernalia
that made sense only to him. I'm sure he had a good idea just where everything was.
I'm sure no one else did.

He pulled boards and nails from a dilapidated shed to repair the working barn
one afternoon. He taught me how to straighten nails. He showed me how to
use a block to get better leverage to pull a nail from long-seasoned hardwood.
He taught me a technique to keep from hammering my thumb when driving a
nail or breaking my arm when driving a stake. Now I never drive a nail without
thinking of him.

Grandpa started his family at the very beginning of the Great Depression.
Because of that he and grandma celebrated the day of his hiring at Owens-Corning
Fiberglass until they day they died. Grandma sent him off to work there with a
full lunch pail every day for thirty-five years and considered it a provision of God.

They didn't buy what they could grow. They proudly grew tomatoes, peppers
(that Grandpa called mangoes), green beans, limas, corn, and cucumbers
(that they always called pickles). They raised their own beef and sometimes
milked their own cow. They majored in home economics long before there were
formal courses on it. They shared one car and it was Spartan, the simplest
Chevy available, with few adornments. They did not waste and squander.

But here is the heart of my long reverie; Grandpa built from material gathered
here and there because of economic necessity.

God knows nothing of economic necessity. His resources are unlimited. He
never lacks. He never sleeps. He is never confused or perplexed. He is never
in need. He is never worried. But He is a builder. He created the world out of nothing.

Shortly thereafter sin fowled his beautiful creation and tarnished the reflection
of His image in mankind and throughout His creation, but before the foundation
of the world he had in his heart of blueprint of redemption—a re-building strategy.
He who created the worlds with his words gathers the scraps of fallen humanity and re-builds.

Don't miss this and never doubt it. God builds beautiful things with material he
gathers from the ruins of our lives. This is good news, the best of news for us,
who are capable of devastating ruin. So here is an encouraging word if you ever
find yourself sitting among the ruins of your life:

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To
comfort all who mourn, To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty
for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He
may be glorified."   And they shall rebuild the old ruins, They shall raise up the former
desolations, And they shall repair the ruined cities, The desolations of many generations.
(Isaiah 61:1-4)

His ability to redeem and rebuild is infinite. He is not limited by time. His intent to
restore and rebuild can leap across generations of brokenness, captivity, bondage,
and mourning. That's just the way He is. You have His word on that.

Ken Pierpont
ken@kenpierpont.com

Write Ken and let him know your thoughts on his story!

About Ken:

I have been married to Lois, my college sweetheart since 1979. We
have eight children, four sons and four daughters, a daughter-in-law, and a grandson.

I am a third-generation pastor. Our oldest son, Kyle is a youth pastor.
Our next son, Charles is a youth pastor , too. My Dad and Grandfather
were pastors. My two brothers are both pastors. My sister is married to
a pastor. Do you notice a pattern here?

I love to speak, sing, and write to inspire others. I mentor people and organize
things and do what needs to me done to support my story-telling habit. I am
not above telling stories for food. On November 11th, 2007 I accepted a call to
be the Senior Pastor at Evangel Baptist Church in Taylor, Michigan. They seem
like really nice people, so I'm sure they are going to keep us in groceries for a while.

Ken sends the Stonebridge Newsletter, a free weekly electronic newsletter, to
over 5,000 subscribers every Monday morning. You can visit his site at: www.kenpierpont.com

Creation Q & A

Q: If evolution is supposedly a ‘scientific' view of origins, why is it linked to some of
the moral issues of our day?

A: There's a new fad called ‘evolutionary psychology.' Remember the old saying--the devil
made me do it? Perhaps the way to put it now is: ‘evolution made me do it!'

For years, many people--even some Christians--have scoffed at the idea that a decline
in morality could be linked with evolution.

A research study conducted at the Australian National University has revealed that
people who believe in evolution are more likely, for example, to be in favor of extra-marital
relations. Also, those who accept Darwinian ideas were found to be more tolerant of abortion.

The author of the research report said that there were two important influences in how
people in this study looked at extra-marital relations and abortion: first, church attendance,
and second, the influence of the theory of evolution. In other words, if they attended church,
where they may have received some biblical instruction, they would more likely to be chaste
and pro-life. But if they accepted the teaching of evolution, they would think otherwise.

If more churches would teach the Bible as written--and accept the Genesis teachings
that God is the Author of marriage and life--we'd see better morals in society!

 Source: AnswersinGenesis.org