Open Spaces
Vol.
20.11
By
John W. Vander Velden
November
27, 2020
By
the time you get these words Thanksgiving Day will be a memory. It is my hope
that during these unprecedented days that among those recollections are happy
thoughts. COVID-19 has thrust much of the county into a situation that you and
I have never faced before. The tremendous rise of cases in our area force us to
make changes we did not wish to make...changes we hated.
Those
changes were not driven by fear...though we, like everyone do not want to
become victims of the disease. No, the choices we made were motivated by
concerns for others. Plans would have led us an hour and fifteen minutes south.
It would have given us the first opportunity to see our son since February. For
he had planned to make the long drive up from Kentucky.
But
the changing situation and our worries about the health of others that would be
there, for among them were those of extreme vulnerability, fueled our decision.
Should not Jackie and I set aside our own longings, if to do so would reduce
their risk?
So
this Vander Velden household had a private dinner of amazing food in a quiet
home.
But
Thanksgiving is not about over eating...well not really anyway. It should be,
first and foremost, a time to be grateful. To be grateful for all the things we
take for granted most of the time. We may not be able, this year, to hug out
son, yet we are grateful for the young man he has become.
Out of sight is not out
of mind!
And
we have SO many things to be thankful for, a home with a roof that doesn’t leak
and a furnace that heats it, our health that makes it possible to accomplish
the things we are to do, automobiles that start when we want them to, tasks
that give us purpose and a reason to get up each morning, family that we love,
and certainly not least, the love of our GOD and the gift of grace He has given.
So
as 2020 moves ever closer to its conclusion, I am a very grateful man. It is my
hope that vaccines will bring us closer to the normal life we knew just ten
months ago. Yet each of us should not abandon the simple things we have been doing,
practice social distancing, washing and sanitizing our hands, and wearing a
mask. Simple things that show that we are doing our part. For together we can
defeat this pandemic, but it will take all of us!
By
now you have heard enough about the election, so I will not give it more
mention than this. Let us ALL support whoever is president in the coming years.
Now
for just a bit of writing news.
I
have been tugged away from my primary writing projects off and on these last
weeks. All the same I am very near to the point of sending off the manuscript
to my editor and friend.
You
hear that Kristina...it’s coming your way soon.
I
am nearing the end of a large step and preparing for larger task, the first
round of editorial changes. But I am yet ahead of where I expected to
be...another thing to be thankful for.
I’ve
crossed five hundred words on this letter again, so let me draw this correspondence
to a close. Dear friends know that the one thing that holds EVERYTHING together
isn’t money...not fame either. It’s LOVE. The love you share with your family
and friends. The love you feel for others as well. Love shown when you act to
benefit others. The few dollars you put in the Red Kettle, your donation to a
local food pantry, showing your patience when you shop or while behind the
wheel of your automobile. Yes, it is LOVE that keeps this world from flying
apart at the seams. And I know the source of all that love...GOD. I pray you
know that source as well.
Wishing
you a grateful heart...filled with love,
John
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