A Broken Teacup

A Broken Teacup                            

By John W. Vander Velden

If you searched the cupboard of a woman I once knew, you would find at least one broken teacup, standing unused in the far reaches behind all the unblemished.  Once I drew out a bit of china examined how it had been carefully reassembled, the yellowed glue the only sign of its repair.  “This cup is beautiful, why don’t you use it?”

“It’s broken,” the only response.  And I wondered why she had gone to the labor of putting it together, piece by piece.

In life every person faces blows, physical, emotional, spiritual.  On occasions most of us find ourselves unable to withstand the force of the impact we must face.  Things bend us, things at last, break us.  For, though few would acknowledge, we are as delicate as bone china.

I am a broken teacup, shattered by trials and pains of life.  My pieces have been scattered, laid out, but never lost.  Mended over time, none can see the fractures, few know they exist.

But I do not find myself upon the shelf, not yet anyway.  For my God places me among others, which seem pristine, upon the table.  Through my tears I say. “I am broken and ugly.”

And God responds, “I have gathered all your pieces, the small as well as the large.  I have bound them together and have made you whole again.  Broken time and time again but mended by My hand.  There is yet much you can do.”

Through my breaking and repairs and in my truthful examination of each chip and crack, my compassion for others grows.  I have been mended…and yes, there is much I can do, for my task remains incomplete.  So I say, “Fill me Lord.”

You see…I am a broken teacup…perhaps you are as well.

(299 Words)                12-24-2015  

    

Christmas is More Than a Day

Christmas is More Than a Day

By John W. Vander Velden

 

Each approach Christmas in their own way.  Our memories are among the many things that shape how we view Christmas.  Happy and sad times seem to come to the forefront this time of the year.  We tie events to the unavoidable date and doing so place December 25^th in unrealistic sunshine or bury it beneath dark ominous skies.

But Christmas is more than a day…present…future…or past. 

I had the wonderful good fortune to know Richard.  He was more than my pastor, he became a dear friend.  Richard hammered that Christmas was more than a day.  Beginning on December 25^th, Christmas was twelve days.  You heard the song.  But it meant more to Richard than drummers drumming, and all the symbolism that song contains.  The incredible events that sparked Christmas cannot be confined to twenty-four hours.  Celebrating God’s gift, Jesus Christ’s birth, is a big deal, but that event seems to lie buried beneath a pile of all the things we are told the season means.

But Christmas is more than a day…more than gifts…more than food…more than football…it is just plain more!!!

Some might overlook that Christmas is a Christian holiday.  As Christians we are pleased to share it.  But we cannot share what we do not possess.  We need to grab hold of Christmas…to feel it in our hands…to roll it over and look more closely…to understand what Christmas is.  How can we minimize that God so loved the world…us…that he sent Jesus to go through all the things you and I must face, to be born in the humblest surroundings.  Christmas…God poured His love into the world.  Shouldn’t that change us?  Shouldn’t we stand breathless at the thought…of God, Master of the Universe, reaching down to touch us?

But Christmas is more than a day…more than 12 days…more than a month…it is forever!!!

December 25^th is arbitrary, for the number on the calendar is irrelevant, no one knows precisely the day of Jesus’s birth.  But the world changed that day.  No, it is not perfect, but in a world filled with imperfect people, without Christ, it would be far less perfect.  For in the darkness there came a light…Christ!  There is plenty of darkness, sometimes we feel surrounded, but darkness cannot make the light less light, but even the smallest of candles makes the darkness less dark.

But Christmas is more than a day…it is a state of mind…

How can we, that believe, not be changed?  How can those that know the story not allow it to shape their lives?  Too easy we just move on, Christmas is in December and next month…well, it’s next month.  If December 25^th is the day between the 24^th and the 26^th, then no matter how special those twenty-four hours might be, our mind quickly moves to more common thoughts.  Any effect Christmas has on us will diminish…until next year.  You’ve heard, “people are nicer around Christmas…”  Why?  What about the season fuels compassion, caring, understanding, patience?  Can’t we carry a bit of those qualities every day?  Imagine the world where every day was Christmas.  A place where people care about not just friends and family…but “others”, those on the fringe, those hurting, those hungry, those lost, those lonely, those we walk passed on the sidewalks.  Christmas…Christ…expects us to care…to really care. 

Because Christmas is more than a day…it is about love…about the ultimate love God gives you…about the love we can share…today, tomorrow, and every day. 

For Christmas is more than a day…

(603 Words)                       12-24-2015

 

Jingle?

Jingle?                                   

By John W. Vander Velden

Jingle, jingle, jingle, sounds of the season.  Some might think bells surround us.  We hear it in the music, “Jingle Bells”, and the sound of the few coins that remain in our pockets.  Santa’s sleigh has bells, or so I’m told.  Never seen it myself, but I don’t think their lying.  Bells decorate stores and homes.  It is a rare Christmas tree that doesn’t have at least one bell dangling from its branches.  December seems the month for which bell choirs practice all year.  And hopefully we hear the church bells as they ring in Christ’s birth.

Yes, the season seems filed with “bell” sounds and that’s great.  But we should not allow all the jingles to overshadow Christmas.  We should not allow the glitter and the noise to overpower the “Light”.  We should not allow all the “stuff”, we gather while shopping, to bury the child born in a manger.

Shouldn’t the jingle, jingle, jingle remind us of love, love for one another, and the love poured down from heaven.  For love is the real essence of the season.  In a world that races about, chasing the clanging of this or that, the faint pure tones calls to us.  For God so loved…!  Shouldn’t we love as well?  What are the bounds of love?  How far does love reach?  How great a price does it gladly pay?  Those are the questions we should hear in the bells.  So listen carefully to the bells, to the jingle, jingle, jingle, open your heart, let love in…let love out.  For God loved you enough to send his Son, a child born in a stable…born for you and born for me.  When ultimate love is the question…then Christmas is the absolute answer.

(291 words)                 12-16-2015

 

Private Matters

Private Matters

By John W. Vander Velden

In our lives there are moments burned into our essence,

A brand we carry for the remainder of our lives. 

Some of those marks we share, exposed for others to see. 

Others are guarded – secret wounds – hidden – private matters…

(38 Words)

The Rearview Mirror

The Rear View Mirror           

By John W. Vander Velden

Life rushes on and sometimes it is difficult to keep up.  December seems to take life to a new level of intensity, as we race headlong into the holidays.  But even at this hectic time we know that soon the year will end, and we look back at the months in our wake.  I do not recommend extended dwelling on the past, for time spent reminiscing is time spent away from living.  It is like driving.  We need to concentrate on the road.  My driver’s Ed teacher said we were to look at the big picture, or to see everything that the view through the windshield provided.  While driving, we are surrounded by many hazards, cars moving around us in all directions, potholes in the pavement, pedestrians on crosswalks and along the roadway, and all the other things like traffic lights and detours.  The things we need to watch on our way, boggles the mind.  But the manufactures of our cars provide mirrors, now many offer cameras, to see behind us.  Driving requires us to be aware of the world on all sides, what lies ahead, the things to our left and right, and the stuff behind.  Life is like that.  Sometimes we get so consumed looking out the side windows, the present, that we fail to look toward the future, and we ignore the past all together.  Or sometimes we dwell so deeply in what could be, the future, or what was, the past, that what is, our present, vanishes before we even engage.  When we travel maps are helpful in planning our trip, but while we drive we need to be primarily focused on where we are and the place we find ourselves.  Driving is not the time to think about road trips taken before, or planning next year’s vacation. We need to be connected to the now…driving is dangerous enough…dangerous of the vehicle you drive…dangerous for anyone nearby.  But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t use the rear view mirror.

So as this year winds down, it’s OK to look to next year’s possibilities, it’s OK to think about the past’s successes and disappointments, but remember be engaged in the now…really engaged.  You see in life, like driving, we need to concentrate on the present while we plan on the future and learn from the past, and learning from the past shows that even in life, there is a reason for the rear view mirror.

(411 Words)                12-1-2015