Away

Away                              

By John W. Vander Velden

Those that know my family and its history understand the place I come from, a place that demanded total commitment, long days of unending weeks.  My first outing came when I was well into my twenties.  My parents couldn’t understand my desire to drive around Lake Michigan the first time.  But a dear friend told my parents something I will always remember.  “It’s not so important where he goes, what matters is where he is not.”

On that wisdom, I have relied all these years.  There will always be the tasks that require our attention, but if we do not take the effort to care for ourselves, then perhaps we will be unable accomplish all that is demanded.  Shouldn’t those that work hard, deserve a bit of time away?  Few would deny the right.  Short breaks from the job reenergize us.  But there is the truth many forget.  Being away exposes us to different places and different people.  We are broadened by the experiences of our lives -- those experiences at home and those abroad.  

Those times I am away from my home not only provides a rest physically, but frees me from many of my daily mental requirements.  However vacation days demand new tasks.  Which roads must be taken – which restaurants – etc.  Shifting mental gears is as necessary to our wellbeing as progressing through the ratios on cars are needed to reach the destination we desire.   Time away forces us to think about other things while it frees us from the everyday.

A grand adventure I undertook that summer years ago.  Sleeping in the space I made in my Plymouth Duster – on a sheet of plywood which replaced the back seat.  I will not lie and tell you that it was roomy or comfortable.  Yet those days remain among my fondest memories.  You see it was the first time I was truly -- away.  The first time I traveled -- really traveled -- alone.  The first time I saw Sleeping Bear Dunes, crossed the Mackinac Bridge, drove through mile after mile of north wood, and the first time I heard a bear in the wild.  Yes, it was a time “away” – but more – it was a time “to”.

(369 Words)                       8-7-2014

 

Questions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Questions                       

By John W. Vander Velden

 

I asked GOD. “What are the reasons?”

 

And my GOD answered, “If you knew all the reasons, then you would know all the purpose…and you would think yourself god.  The reasons are beyond your comprehension…the purpose beyond your knowledge…It must be enough to know that there is a purpose…It must be enough to know there are reasons!”

 

Faith and trust…it must be enough.

 

(67 Words)                  1-23-2006

Scars

Scars                      

By John W. Vander Velden

There are times when I do repairs, whether it is on my farm equipment or on my home, I scuff a knuckle or something.  I look at my hands and I see scars.  But my hands are not the only part, of this body that carries me about, to have marks.  Surgeries have left their traces along with life’s injuries.  It would be impossible to have reached this point in my life unscarred.

Yet not all scars can be seen.  As we tread on life’s way we have been cut many times.  Cut by others in ways they themselves might not have realized, but those wounds often leave scars.  We are social animals moving among so many others, and not all our interactions have been positive.  Just as we cannot travel through life without bumps and bruises, cuts and scrapes of our flesh, we are unable to live without being cut in the invisible places.  Places deep within our heart.  Often those hidden marks take longer to heal than a busted knuckle.  Sometimes those injuries require years to scab over and become the scars we can live around.

But those thoughtless acts, or deliberate cruelties need not define us.  It takes time and effort to prevent those pains from making us damaged goods.  To prevent deep cuts to our hearts from becoming long festering wounds that affect who we become.  We must not allow the words or actions of others to shape how we value ourselves or how we deal with those around us.

Too easy to lash out, to treat others as we feel we have been treated.  So difficult to reach inside to find the strength to forgive, but only forgiveness can cut out the rotting infected parts of our hearts.  We understand the freedom of the forgiven, but there is the other side, the side most often unrecognized, that is healing of the forgiver.

Each of us carry many scars.  But just as the old wound mark on my foot does not prevent me from walking, a forgiven wound, that has scarred my heart, should not prevent me from caring.  You see I believe those scarred most deeply can, with God’s help, understand and love others more completely.  You see scars are part of life…part of the growing…part of the learning.  Marks seen and unseen that make us who we are.  Each scar a bit of our own personal history…things common yet unique.

As I consider my scars, I do not dwell upon the time of injury’s pain, but place my thoughts on how I have been changed…hopefully for the better.  Healing may leave scars…but scars are a symbol of healing.  They may not be pretty, but we should not be ashamed of them either.  For we are all scarred, cut in so many different ways.  Let us thank God for scars…the healed wounds…and do our best to notice and help others recover from the cuts they may have received. That with our aid and understanding their wounds heal completely and in the end be only scars.

(516 Words)                9-14-2015