Sun, Water, and Soil

 

Sun, Water, and Soil

By John W. Vander Velden

 

Any farmer will tell you that all plants need three things to thrive...The right amount of sunshine, sufficient water, and good soil.

It is not so different for each of us. We grow stronger bathed by the light of God’s love. Nourished by caring family and friends, and planted in a place we will always feel safe, a place called home.

We all need...sun...water...and soil.

The fortunate have been blessed with an abundance of these three things, but sadly it is not a situation that describes everyone’s life. Too many face shattered homes and abandonment. Too many are denied a place that feels safe. Too many are cut off from or not loved by family. And sadly too many never have learned about the warmth of God...his love for them...his nearness to them...the hope that only God can give.

There is a question each of should ask ourselves.

How can they possibly thrive for they are not provided with the three things each of us must have...sun...water...soil?

(173 Words) 3-16-2021

April Open Spaces Vol. 21.4

 

Open Spaces

Vol. 21.4

April 24, 2021

 

April showers bring May flowers is a phrase we have heard since our grade school days. There are so many ways to interpret those five words. Of course we, as children, took the phrase literally, perhaps we still do. And it, in of itself, is accurate. Early spring rains are needed for the glory of the season to arrive. But if I were to look deeper, I can see that those five words are important guides for other seasons, for other situations.

I can imagine a child yearning to play outdoors. The cold bitter days of winter are behind and warmer temperatures are coming. Yet this child stares out the rain streaked window feeling trapped indoors, unable to run barefoot in the greening grass, longing for the full spring to arrive.

The springtime of that child’s dreams.

For winter’s snow might have been glorious in December and January, but by mid-February the gray days and frozen fingers had lost most of their appeal. March came and it brought the promise of a long winter’s ending, and April, well it excites with its promises.

Yet now this child feels trapped by...the rains of April.

So I will remind us all of what I see as a deeper meaning of April showers bring May flowers. We are to be patient for grander things are coming. For each of us have faced, and many of you are continuing to face, times of stress, times of disappointment, times of pain. It is easy to believe that those rainy day times will never end. That the flowers will not bloom, that the May of our lives will never arrive.

Do not be discouraged.

Have faith that God has something better than dark rainy April days ahead for you. Sunny times of May might seem far off but it draws nearer with each day. Courage friends...and patience too, yet have confidence, for it is coming.

So what has this writer been doing these April days? There always are many things that demand my attention. The lawn for one. The lawns I care for had become quite lush and a little too tall when I hacked them back the first time last week. I also spent some time cleaning up the farm yard following the tree trimmers earlier in the month. Life goes on. Now that Jackie and I are fully vaccinated we had intended to drive south and visit Nick this April. Changes in Jackie’s work requirements at the pharmacy have pushed those plans back a bit. How far back remains unknown. Of course, when I can, I sit down at THIS keyboard and tap out words strung together. The revision of the third book in the Misty Creek Series continues. Hope to have some time to work on that project when I finish this one. You can see I do not have to deal with boredom considering the projects on my list.

I’m nearing 500 words on this newsletter so I will wrap things up.

It is our hope that your April was a GREAT month, and that you look forward to May and all the colors of spring it will bring. That God has kept you safe and well and will continue to do so until we have the opportunity to meet.

Take care,

God bless you and your family,

John

March Open Spaces

 

Open Spaces

Vol. 21.3

By John W. Vander Velden

 

3-26-2021

 

Friends,

Another month nears its conclusion. The days of March have rushed by and April looms very near.

As does Easter.

What does the holiday mean to you? I think each of us needs to ask ourselves that question...the meaning of Easter. My life, during this Lenten season, has been too busy to have spent forty days of self-examination, likely yours has as well. But it would have been good for me to do so. To look at myself a little deeper and focus a little harder on my own relationship with the divine.

But my memories of Easter are as old as I and as varied as the man that sits today at this particular keyboard. Memories of my childhood, of sunny Sunday’s and snowy ones as well. Of family, large and loud. Of Church services with overflowing sanctuaries.

That doesn’t happen so much anymore.

I remember one particular Easter season...the one of my confirmation. Those memories have dimmed little in the fifty-six years that have passed. I remember other Easters, of other families, of other significance. These days I miss most the Easters of my son’s youth. The reflection of the day’s magnificence in his eyes. Yes, Easter means a great deal to me. Not only the day on the calendar, or the memories, or the Church services, but what Easter means...

It is my hope that Easter carries such a significance to you as well...

 

Now for just a bit of writing news.

I will be renaming the book on which I am currently working. I’ll hold my title ideas “close to the vest” for now. Nearly two months into this editorial revise finds me struggling. I plod onward page by page hoping to find a balance soon. All I can tell you is that this set of revisions will take more time than I had originally anticipated. Is that good or bad? Time, friends, will tell. Fact is I never intended to write a third book in the Misty Creek series, or at least not this third book. Perhaps that is why I labor so diligently. I must make this volume worthy of my reader’s expectations. That’s a high bar and I am not certain I have the skills to clear that altitude.

I find there are times I am not completely pleased with the changes I have made. But, I remind myself, the book is a work in progress. So I take one bite and chew on it until it seems little more than mush, then go on to the next. I hope to finish Part 1 next week, and then push forward...always forward.

I have no idea when it will be finished, so stay tuned.

So I will close today with just a few final words.

God keep you and yours safe...today...tomorrow...and always. And I wish you a blessed Easter and a fantastic spring. 

 

John

 

Thirty-Two

 

Thirty-Two

 

By John W. Vander Velden 

Each person has moments when their lives change dramatically. Some are anticipated events that bring expected results. But most often, even in changes we have longed to occur, there are some surprises along the way. 

I guess I had given up hope, before I met her. I had reached acceptance of myself and my life as a single person. Coming to that point was a slow drawn out process. But I had. I recognized that I had to respect myself, and enjoy my life as it was. Reaching that destination, I TRUSTED that God had placed me in the life I had been given, and must go forward without attempting to force my existence into another form. 

That’s when the unexpected happened. 

I believe the most wonderful events are the unexpected surprises that “knock your socks off”. I met Jackie by chance at my youngest brother’s wedding. Truthfully not a bad place to start an acquaintance. That was a beginning, it was not some storybook kind of tale you might view on a Hallmark Channel. It was a start of two very human people…meeting…getting to know one another…realizing our commonalities… understanding our differences, and growing closer. 

You see, when I gave up looking for love…love found me… 

On a snowy Saturday some years later, my life changed…dramatically. Many of those changes were expected…some were not. How could a thirty-seven year old man be so unprepared? Perhaps because he WAS thirty-seven. Every road has some bumps but with time, patience, experience, and love, we have managed to smooth out the way substantially. 

When we look forward at a time period, the years seem to stretch far into the distance, but when we look back…well things look differently. We certainly would not have considered ourselves youngsters on that Saturday. Yet now thirty-two years later when I look back, it is hard not to see how young and naïve we were. 

Yet what an adventure we began that day. The places we have gone, the things we have seen, the experiences along the way. A child born, raised, and sent out on his own wings. Challenges met. Crisis averted. Loved ones lost. We shared joys. We shared tears. We shared grand achievements. We stood together in our failures. The binding grows stronger with each year. The time we have in common greater than the before…for her, and nearly equal for me. 

Love is a verb! 

But the energy required for love to grow has, with time, diminished. Perhaps it is the shared history, but I believe our love is tied to our undying mutual respect for one another. An honest acceptance of the other’s strengths and weaknesses. Reaching the point where the other…“the better half’s”… needs exceed our own. 

Each day, is for me, another gift that I have been blessed to share with the one person…the only person…I long to spend those hours with...Jackie. 

Thirty- two years ago I willingly joined a team…a team of two. For a time it was a team of three, but it’s just the two of us again. No, we are not alone in the world. No, there are many that hold special portions of our lives. But when the lights go out and when the sun rises again, it is just us…the two of us. And has been for thirty-two wonderful years… 

3-16-2021 (563 Words)   

One Year In

 

One Year In

 

By John W. Vander Velden

 Hard to imagine that we have lived a full year beneath the shadow of COVID-19. It certainly has not been the situation we would have chosen for those twelve months. There was little ordinary about the bulk of 2020. And 2021’s early months have continued the trend. Most of us know victims of this disease that has swept the world. And each of us know the name of at least one that had lost the battle, taken too soon. 

But where do we find ourselves…today. 

We have become numb to the shock and aw of what has been the sudden unknown thrust into our lives. Seeing covered faces is no longer an odd experience. The term “social distance” has been added to our vocabulary. Most have hand sanitizer at the ready. Talk of vaccination scheduling is heard often. But too often we hear the words like, I wish things would get back to normal.   

It is certainly the wish we all share. That our lives return to the pre-COVID world. Personally, I had believed that with last summer’s sun the danger would dissipate. Silly me. Researching the Spanish Flu of 1918-1919 opened my eyes to the likely possibility of a longer crisis. Recently the number of COVID fatalities has passed 500K. No matter what your view is on that count, the number reveals too many heartbreaks of the many families that face the loss of friends, parents, children, siblings, co-workers, and neighbors. 

Thankfully the numbers are trending downward, and with the commitment of EACH of us that trend SHOULD continue. 

We have suffered a year. If EVERYONE does their part, then together we can overcome this disease. Let us take the small and sometimes uncomfortable tasks to help one another. NO ONE enjoys wearing a mask, but I can tell you, from my family’s own experience, it HELPS. It helps those that wear the face covering and it helps those they meet. Follow the social distancing guidelines. Surely, we long to, once again, hug our extended family members and others we love.

Friends, the opportunity will return. 

There is a light at the end of this dark tunnel, it grows brighter every day. Millions have been vaccinated…millions more will need to receive their shots for “herd immunity” to become the virus slayer needed. 

Last week I received my first COVID shot. I look forward to the second piercing of the arm only weeks away. Science offers me, and others as well, a likely escape from this pandemic. Yet, time will tell of the vaccine’s success. But I will do my part…for my family…for yours. 

One year in and the world is a different place. 

But together we WILL defeat COVID, if each of us does what is needed, even at times when doing so is painful…uncomfortable…difficult. For nothing worth achieving has ever come easily or without price. 

Now that we are, all of us, one year in, I promise you that I will do my part as best as I am able. To carry my share of the burden. To set aside my personal wants, of gathering with others, of traveling to the distant places I love, and even to visit my son out of state, until I am certain I cannot be a factor in COVID’s spread. Those are the promises I make, because I believe I MUST do my part. 

Will you not promise to do the same…

 

(570 Words) 3-4-2021

February Open Spaces Vol. 21.2

 

Open Spaces

Vol. 21.2

By John W. Vander Velden

 

February 25, 2021

 

Greetings from my small corner of the world.

What a February we have had. Jackie and I had been enjoying a relatively mild winter until...brrrrr...the temperature crashed. But the last few days of this month have been mild and the snow that was stack around us is melting. A stark contrast to the snowy frigid weeks at February’s beginning. Now most of the yard is visible and only small ice patches remain.

We can tell that the days are noticeably longer and watch as the sun breaks the horizon closer to true east. Though we may yet have snow storms, with each day, spring draws closer. Yet I try to enjoy every day...the snowy ones too. For I remind myself of two things. One is what my father told me often, don’t wish your life away by wanting a change in the seasons, and two, God gives me this day...today is a gift...

So that is what I will wish for you today...that you will find something enjoyable in each day. February’s included. That you grab hold of each twenty-four hours with both hands and make the time special.

One last point about February, it’s my birth month. I guess that has always made it special. I remember the three birthdays I had as a child living in central Florida. You could expect some warm, almost hot days, before the month’s end. But for a kid that really didn’t matter. I remember one particular February day. A hot sunny day, the 19^th, I was on top of the old ‘49 Dodge truck, helping lash down the canvas that covered our family’s belongings. I remember, correctly or not, that it was 80 degrees. The neighbors came to say their goodbyes. I looked down at the three of them. My classmate, Susan, her younger brother Duwayne, standing with their mother. The profoundness of that moment did not register with the just reaching ten year old boy I was.

Not then.

But that image is burned into my memory. A reluctant wave of the hand, surely our parting was a certainty...but not necessarily desired.

Perhaps those words can remind you of the precious value of EACH day. For there is something magnificent slipped within those twenty-four hours. You may be like the kid high up on the top of a truck unable to recognize the magic moment at the time. But notice or not the magic happens. Open your eyes and hearts to the possibilities...the amazing instants.

Now for a few words about my writing.

Life’s obligations have stolen most of the time since our last visit. When I flipped over January’s page of the calendar, I began the first editorial revise of the third book of the Misty Creek Saga. The work has been intense, during the time I could pry loose for the task. I find myself behind schedule...again...but doing my best. Kristina has given me so much to think about, and I find comments on each page that set my gears to whirling. Times I must shake my head and walk away from the keyboard in order to figure out my next step.

I find it at times a mix of frustration and awakenings. Having an editor like Kristina, someone I trust, someone that knows my writing as well as she does, is a blessing. Kristina pushes me. Though I will not follow every idea she presents, I appreciate that she offers her expertise and guidance.

So what can John tell you about the timetable...when this book will be finished...at this point...NOTHING.

Sorry...

One other point before I begin the closing. Have you been watching my videos? When it comes to getting out there to see you, whether it is a book signing or some other event, COVID has been a stick in the spokes of my wheels. So in the interim, I have done a few Virtual Author’s Events. Short videos of 10-13 minutes. You can find them on my YouTube channel or at John Vander Velden Author’s Facebook page. If you’re curious check them out.

I have, once again, run long, so I will close with these few words. Love is the greatest force of all the powers that surround us. But remember the single source of love, all love, is GOD. We live in a world where too often it seems that hatred is in control.

But what is hate?

For if cold is the absence of heat...then is not hate the absence of love. And I, personally, believe that genuine love can conquer even absolute hate. 

Remember GOD loves you...and always will!

John  

   Visit my web page www.johnvandervelden.com My World of Words

 

 

365 Days

 

365 Days

By John W. Vander Velden

 

I had a birthday this week and began the last 365 days of my sixth decade. I guess it feels a bit strange to think about the year in that context, but sometimes my mind takes me down twisted roads. Even as my years seem to stack up like cordwood, my memory has not abandoned me...yet. And so, even as I type these words, I remember a young man, a very young man, in New Prairie High School who could not even imagine the place I find myself today. Truthfully I am not certain that seventeen or eighteen year old expected his bones to rattle along into what he felt would be old age...or from his view...really old age.

Yet here I find myself nearing the end on another decade, grateful to be among those “still standing”. I consider the journey I have traveled, not distance on the map, but an internal distance unmeasurable by any tool. It has been an important portion of a lifetime, and I have witnessed many unexpected things. Yes, I was glued to the TV when Neil Armstrong took his first steps on the moon, and I have witness other moments, some not nearly as impressive but profound all the same. Earthquake ravaged Anchorage. A president resigning in his shame. Riots in the streets of LA.

Compared to these things my life has been quiet. But even quiet existences face cataclysmic events that my teenage self would never believe survivable. For I, like everyone, that lives long enough, have been forced to suffer through what we, in our youth would have considered unendurable.

Some might believe I have lived a charmed life. And I will admit there are many others that have been forced to bare far greater pains than this man, yet I would not describe my life as some fairy tale existence. For among the times of great joy and unbelievable achievements, I too have dealt with loss, with illness, with many, many disappointments.

It is life, is it not?

And life’s experiences shapes us into the people we become. Am I proud of the man I see in the mirror? Not entirely. But I am not totally ashamed of the man that God has helped me become either. For to me that is the crux of it. That I have been through the fire, injured perhaps, but not consumed. I have faced challenges, knowing I have never stood alone.

Now as I move beyond my 69^th birthday I know...for a fact...that God is not done with me...yet. I must seek out the task that lies before me...the task that would in its way serve the Lord I love. The task that aids God’s kingdom in whatever small way a modest man is able.

So I continue to walk forward and try doing so with my head held just high enough to see the goal that has been set before me. There are nearly 360 days left in this decade of my life, I pray...daily...that I waste not a one.  

  (507 Words) 2-12-2021