August Open Spaces

 

Open Spaces

Vol. 21.8

 

By John W. Vander Velden

 

Where has the summer gone? As we near the end of August the busses rumble by twice a day as proof that school is once more in session, and we wonder how the summer has slipped past. Yet the temperature reminds us that season has not freed us from that portion of its grip. 

Yet it is my hope that the summer has offered you special opportunities. That you have built new memories to carry with you all the days ahead. Summer found me mowing grass and trimming bushes and those demands stealing time from the tasks I would rather be doing. I’m sure you faced a similar dilemma. Our lives are over filled and we have become accustomed to what might appear as insanity to those that stand on the sidelines. 

But we stride forward, don’t we? 

If our day to day were not overwhelming enough, the world news reveals millions of people that would wish for our problem set. When I observe the suffering of so many, I do not complain about what in truth I recognize are my own miniscule problems. I have watched scenes of people in panic while clinging to the outer skin of military aircraft. Witnessing parents lifting their children over fences in the hope their offspring find a place that offers a better situation than the world they find themselves. 

I have also shook my head at the devastation following the earthquake in Haiti. Of lives that were literally crushed and homes destroyed. But nature that has struck in other places as well. Hurricanes and torrential rains in amounts beyond imagining. The smoke detected in skies more than a thousand miles from their source proof of millions of acres left in ashes and even now the fires continue to rage, devouring homes and businesses. 

Seems to me that I should have two mindsets. One: to be grateful of the things I must face. Yes, we have had some storms this summer, trees to cleanup, but have for the most part have gone unscathed. That in of itself is worth celebrating. And two: to feel compassion for ALL those that suffer. To NEVER allow my heart to become hardened to the plight of others near or far. 

So as September nears, I remember these two things and make certain that they are included in my prayers. 

Now shifting gears to lighter subjects. A bit of writing news. 

I know you have been waiting, patiently I might add, for book three of the Misty Creek Saga. I am well down, what I will describe as a very long road. I have never faced an editorial revise nearly as difficult as this one. I have poured many hours into this step, as I shape this book, tentatively named With the Sun’s Rising. Let know what you think of the title. Last week I completed the first pass of part three. With one part remaining, I continue to push forward. 

But I must remind you that there is MUCH work ahead of me, if I am to create a book to meet my fan’s expectations. This volume is a continuation of Elizabeth’s story, covering the first years of her marriage. I keep any other details “close to the vest”, so to speak. 

I’ll try to get through a few more pages today after I finish this letter. 

So let me close with these few words. I trust the God that I know is the Master of all things. I know that the Spirit is with me always. I rely on Jesus who has saved me from myself. For God is love...and love is the greatest force of all. Be surrounded by love. By family, by friends, by the compassion of strangers, and by God. In all things remember that God is nearer than your next breath... 

Blessings,

John

 

8-27-2021 (652 Words)

A Father's Words

 

A Father’s Words

 

 

James,

 

What can a father say, as you begin this most exciting part of your life, for tomorrow you marry?  Perhaps I should share bits and pieces I have learned.  Remembering the time of your arriving, the night spent, the “breathing” but mostly I took up space, just a presence.  Some might say an unnecessary presence.  I believe your mother would disagree.  Throughout my life I have faced many things, some good others not, yet nothing frightened me more than the tiny child God placed into my care.  The hours I walked the floor.  The nights I went sleepless.  A man faces no greater challenge, no greater responsibility.  As I watched you grow, years passing, my obligations changed.  Never my love or the pride I have felt.  From the years when you struck that ball upon a tee, running bases on a diamond of red brown earth, to your success on the debate team, you humbled your father.  Your achievements far exceed this mere man.  Many things I should say.  How I cried when you cried, laughed when you laughed.  How I miss the child, but admire the man that child became.  How my love for you has no boundaries, not distance, not time, nor anything we may fear or must face.  Though I can not stand with you, my son, tomorrow, for a chasm uncrossable separates us, know that I am near. 

 

Kiss your mother for me.  Remember always, your father loved you.

 

Dad

 

 

(252 Words)

Waves

 

Waves

By John W. Vander Velden                       

When watching the waves...I  sense the power of God...

With wind upon my face, I watch the waves, the rolling water, infinite shades of gray beneath pale blue sky.  Rolling swells, one following another, the same yet each with subtle differences invisible to most eyes…constant but forever changing.  Rising and falling from the distant horizon.  The crests lifting as they approach until no longer able to support water stacked, the tops tumbling forward…breaking…rolling…roaring…as thundering it attempts an invasion up sandy strand.  Swirling water of froth and foam, thundering, as churning sand and water at last stopped, retreating as reinforcement of the brothers that follow.  Is the damp sand victor as the tide is stemmed?  Perhaps today.  But dunes signify the power of wind and water, a power far beyond sand’s strength, as waves drag the grains to sea and air’s force shift and shape.  My ears filled with the deafening crash, sound carried on salty gale, the scent of sea indescribable yet familiar.  Biting cold, I unable to look away though eyes water.  Alone, the sea is mine, for none others walk water’s edge this winter’s morning.  Seeing…hearing…smelling…feeling…the power great...infinite as wind and water link, a union as ancient as time.  Standing vulnerable my smallness overcomes, turning up collar, sliding hands deep in pockets, defiant I do not flee.  Perhaps realizing my insignificance, form clearer understanding, an understanding that can only come by watching waves…

1-24-2015 (226 Words)