Things to Do
By John W. Vander Velden
In a world that seems to tug us in every direction, we
feel overwhelmed. Time needed for
preparations of the days ahead alludes us as the demands we already carry leave
few moments. How do we face tomorrow
when today ends with so many unfinished tasks?
Technology promised to free, but also adds new demands. We are the first generation with these
countless accesses, social and informational links to a larger world and
uncountable people. The sheer novelty of
those possibilities draw us to spend minutes and hours examining posts most of
no value, in our busy world another demand for our time.
There are only so many minutes and most of us are busy,
but we seldom take the time to rank the importance of the things that call
us. That should be our priority. To understand what we must accomplish, what
we wish to accomplish, and what we allow to get in the way. Recreation is important, and time spent
“unwinding” necessary. But it is the
balance that we should seek.
As a farmer the spring adds its list of “to do’s”, so
I understand the frustration of unreachable goals. For I like all others have the “basic” stuff
to do, mow the grass, pay the bills, etc., etc., etc. Often weather interferes with the work that
demand immediacy, plowing, tilling, planting, and all the rest. The numbers on the calendar hurry past do not
wait and dawdling achieves nothing. This
is my forty-forth season and I know my stamina much less than years past, yet
my task list seems to grow.
On yet another rainy day, I wonder how I might
accomplish all that is required. I do
not find it easy to just tell myself that it will all work out. For though my heart might carry that
confidence, my head continues to search for solutions to weather created
interference. I know that there is much
beyond my control, but…
I rarely sit idly by when there is so much to do. My world moves whether it rains or skies are
blue. In twenty-four hours the calendar
flips another page and there are no “mulligans”. So in my crazy world I must do my best to
prepare, try to be efficient with the time I have been allotted, focus on the
things that matter most, love, and family, work as hard as I am able, and
understand if I truly give it my best then…well, It will be good enough.
So for me and most others whose lives seem to be
within a maelstrom, time has come to catch our breath, focus and carry on. Wish me luck, and I’ll pray for you too…
(448 Words) 6-29-2015
A person does not know
the “metal” that makes them, until life demands its proving. My heart aches for a friend, whose “metal”
has been tested over and over again.
When a beloved becomes ill, and the illness severe, actions show
strength and strain. Long hours can
become endless days, and endless days can drag on to months, even years. But real love will not abandon. Real love bears the burden. Real love is the walk together, on the hard
trails, as well as the easy. Some face
the ultimate challenge, when an ending grows near, confident that the passing
does not mark the ceasing but rather a change.
Yet even with that confidence, the pain grows. For though we understand that it is a walk to
the door, a portal to grand newness, to a place where pain and suffering does
not exist, it is the door that separates, for one crosses and the other remains
behind. The truest love is shown when
two choose, on that difficult journey, to walk together. 
So, what do you see when
you look at the flag. What are your
thoughts today or when you hear the National Anthem. Each of us carry our own ideas, see values
from a perspective we share with no other.
The Stars and Stripes speak to me of all that have stood before. Imperfect men and women reaching toward a
perfect dream. I tear at the words of
the "Star Spangled Banner", remembering my parents, living in an
occupied land. They gave up nearly all
they had to come to this country. A land
that adopted them in search of a dream.
A land that gave opportunity, a place they filled those dreams. Did those successes come easy? No.
Did their rise on sucess' ladder come quickly? Again the answer is
no. Nearly forty years of struggle and
sacrifice. Nearly forty years of
heartbreak and disappointment. Time and
again they stood at the brink of losing it all, but they believed in the
possibility...they believed in the country that had taken them in...they
believed in the national dream.