Counting

Counting                          11-25-2014

By John W. Vander Velden

There are many ways to view Thanksgiving.  For some it is a time when family and friends gather.  An occasion when they meet for perhaps the only time of the year.  Others consider the holiday a task.  Working to prepare home and meal for many mouths of those with grand appetites.  Then there are the football games.  Some use the time to delve into the sale flyers, as they make plans for Christmas shopping. 

There are many aspects to the fourth Thursday of November, a day, for most, set aside from work.  But perhaps it is a day that deserves a bit of time -- counting.  As children we counted all the time.  We counted the pennies in our bank.  On Halloween we counted the candy in our stash gathered from the neighborhood homes.  We counted checkers and counted cards.  But as we grew older we counted less.  The bank counts our money for us – those that managed to hold onto their pennies from all those years ago.  We take for granted that the deck of cards is complete, and so on. 

Yet there comes a need to assess or in the very least consider the vast number of things in our lives – to count our blessings.  And there is no better time than Thanksgiving.  Though we live in a world where the economy is fueled by purchases, a place where the media bombards us with the things we should have but do not – yet.  We forget, too easily, the bounty of our lives, overlooking the unmeasurable value found in our relationships – family, friends, coworkers and neighbors, and we take for granted ordinary things that make up our every day.

Counting helps, to take stock in the wonders of the world, the glorious sunrises, the summer evening song of the robin whose notes flow on the soft sweet breeze, the shining eyes of a laughing child, the smell of fresh baking, blueberry muffins, on a Sunday morning, the contentment of a task well done, leisurely walks with the one you love, watching the TV on quiet nights, or the innumerable other things that make up our lives.  When begin the count and we will realize the number far beyond our expectation.  Then we will understand how we are truly blessed – blessed by laughter – blessed by love – blessed by life – blessed by God.

Counting should not be reserved for one day, no matter how special that day might be.  We should count often, and while we count be grateful.  No, our lives are not perfect.  No, we will never own all the things we might want.  No, not every day of our lives will be joyful.  For there will be difficult days ahead, just as we have faced the difficult times in our past.  But though past pains might fill our mind and make the counting difficult, yet we should count – and remember – and give thanks for each day, for the joys and yes, for the hard times too.  For the hard times make us strong and give greater joy to all the rest.  

So today count – count the good things in your life.  Count family and home.  Count life and love. And give thanks for the uncountable blessings you have been given.  Open your heart to share with those less fortunate.  Giving is a blessing of its own.  Smile often, it is a gift that costs you nothing but brightens the world around you.  Take a moment to realize the bounty all around you has been given on loan – yours for a time and should be shared.  Thanksgiving is a special day – so make it special by counting.   

(608 Words)

Only One Grain of Sand

Only One Grain of Sand                

By John W. Vander Velden

 

So I ask the question.  If someone gathers a single grain of sand from the beach would it matter?  Would taking a single particle of sand change the beach’s value?  The simple answer would be that a single grain is insignificant.  But I contend that though billions upon billions of grains make up the beach the removal of even one makes the beach less, particularly to the Master of the Beach.

You see the Master of the Beach knows each grain of sand -- recognizes that every grain is unique.  The Master of the Beach knows when each grain came to be, where it was formed, and how it has at last arrived to the particular beach which is its home.  The Master of the Beach knows that each grain has a shape it shares with none other, slight variances of chemical composition, and shades of color.  The Master of the Beach has named each grain -- perhaps a name different than the name the grain of sand might call itself, because no person knows the grain of sand better…especially the grain itself.  The Master of the Beach knows all these things and sees a value invisible to others, how each grain supports others, how each grain matters.

There are those times when we wonder -- wonder how we fit into things.  We wonder about our worth and consider the world and all the people that fill it.  We think of ourselves as but a grain of sand on the beach.  How easily we feel insignificant.  Each day we find ourselves surrounded by others.  Each day we measure ourselves and find ourselves lacking.  We recognize those deemed powerful and important and know that list does not include us.  We wonder if any notice us.  If, when our time on earth is finished, we have made even the smallest of marks. 

But the Master of the Universe knows us. Knows who we are -- what we are -- where we came from -- and the journey that we have traveled.  The Master of the Universe has given each of us a name.  It is the name by which he knows us.  It might not be the name we call ourselves, but is our true name.  Our true purpose has always been part of His plan -- a plan we neither know nor understand.  For each of us is unique, a one of a kind individual like no other, filling a space that only we can fill.  And the Master of the Universe knows that the world would be less -- much less -- without any one of us.

(437 Words)

Transitions

Transitions

By John W. Vander Velden

 

In each person’s life there are those moments when we face changes.  For though we might desire constants, life moves onward in a continual state of flux, and we face new things daily.  But there are those moments in our lives when something dramatic comes to our “timeline”.  Looking backward we see these times clearly -- our graduation -- our marriage -- the birth of our first child -- the list grows with the year count.  Those occasions share more than memories, those times of our evolving life are more than “just” change.  For though we have approached each with different levels of preparedness, we have watched the events as they approached.  We have taken time, time to consider the change, what it means, and what we think will be the result.  Each of us has faced these things, these transitions of our lives.  Moving from High School perhaps to work or college.  The change of living alone to sharing our life with another.  The fear of having a brand new person under our constant care.  But these special type of changes, these transitions, do not exist only in our past.  As we move forward in our lives, changes come, some we choose, others are thrust upon us.  For the one thing that remains constant about life is its continuous change.  Each of us will face, perhaps many times, a moment when we must choose the direction that is best for us or those we love.  At times the change we choose is dramatic -- a transition -- from what we know, into something we think is better.   We see these things coming, and we face these changes with intense seriousness.  But no matter how much we prepare – no matter how much we have “ground our thoughts” to what we anticipate – yet it becomes a matter of faith and trust as we leap from the life we know toward the new life that awaits.

(324 Words)

 

The Road

The Road            2-20-2014

By John W. Vander Velden

For each must walk the road, a route as unique as the individual.  As we travel on that journey, we will encounter forks and crossroads.  Each intersection a choice for us alone, a choice made but once, for there is no returning.  Wisdom does not always play in our choosing, and regret too often rears its head.  The route we choose shapes the travels we make.  Corrections possible, but they do not eliminate foolish wandering.  None pick the perfect path – for no one can see all the pits and potholes, rocks and boulders, hills and valleys that demand our crossing.  Take care when the road seems easy – the smooth way rarely best.  Yet build your strength when the road seems straight and flat, for none reach their destination on that highway alone.  The time comes to all when that energy saved will be needed while the climb is hard or the path veers left and right.  And endurance needed, for all must travel across barren wastes that lie between us and journey’s end.  Times we share the way.  Times we must strive on it seems alone.  For life gives us companions, whose travels join our route.  Some come and walk with us for many years, others but a moment, but in the end our road is our journey and the shared steps may not reach identical ends.  

For each must walk the road, a route as unique as the individual.  But the fortunate relies upon another’s strength when muscles fail.  Hope comes from the unseen – but not the unknown, for they have felt the intangible that never abandons.  They cannot know the obstacles that lie before but have confidence in their destination.  They find joy in the journey – the mountain’s climb difficult but the view at its summit breathtaking.  They realize each day its own reward.  Each challenges strengthen.  Each choice a lesson learned to aid the wanderer. 

For each must walk the road and travel a route unique.  But God has placed you upon your path – and He will not forsake you on your travels – at last guiding you safely home.

  (352 Words)