I’m not the kind of person who believes in coincidences. In fact, I firmly believe that everything in life happens for a reason, regardless of whether or not we understand those plans. And sometimes let’s face it, life just requires a leap of faith to keep moving forward.
Everything about building this barn has required a leap of faith for us, and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t scary. It was a leap of faith deciding to build this barn, at this stage in our lives but we’d taken the leap and weren’t looking back, only forward.
Last week, something happened that helped me put things in great perspective.
Our Contractor, Dan of Midwest Buildings Inc, called and offered to take me up in the SkyJack so I could get some unique pictures of what our building looked like from 41′, higher than the 26′ peak of the barn. In the interest of full disclosure I have to say that I have an intense, lifelong fear of heights. Full-blown, full-throttle insane fear of heights. In fact: I medicate when I have to fly, I don’t ride roller-coasters or ferris wheels, I don’t climb ladders to clean windows and I always drive on the inside lane of bridges (white-knuckled I might add), ‘just in case’. You get the idea.
And then I heard these words came out of my mouth when I responded to Dan’s offer: “That sounds awesome! Can we do it tomorrow?”
The little voice in my head was screaming: “No, No, NO! WHAT is WRONG with YOU?!!” before the last word was out of my mouth. Apparently in my excitement about building this barn, recognizing a childhood dream and capturing what I hoped would be great photos, I experienced a brief moment of insanity and a terrible lapse in judgment but it was too late….I had committed to a date with SkyJack.
Of course, the next day was crystal clear and perfect with just the slightest amount of wind. I had silently prayed for snow, rain or something else that would keep the SkyJack grounded the night before but….I calmly sat in my golf cart and calmly watched Dan put the outriggers out (to stabilize the SkyJack) and skillfully and safely maneuver it to it’s max height of 41′.
My mind raced with two very different thoughts: This will either be phenomenal and you’ll have an amazing view and manage to to get some photos OR you’ll plummet to an early death. I didn’t see a lot of in-between at the moment.
My family and I have already taken a giant leap of faith on building this building and now I had the opportunity to see it from another angle. This was one of those things in life that required another leap of faith if I wanted more so…I climbed into the cage of that SkyJack and I took a giant leap.
And guess what? I didn’t plummet to an early death. In fact the views, perched above our 120 x 60′ building with 26′ peaks was absolutely stunning. We could see forever on this amazing, crystal clear day. I managed to get a few shots of the view from above but the most important thing is: I took a leap of faith to see the results of another leap of faith and….it was incredible.
Whether you’re working with your horse, finding the right path in life or building a barn…sometimes the only way to move forward is by taking that leap.
Next Up: Walls and Roof Going UP & ON
Until Next Time,
Cindy
