Right in the Centre Ken Waddell

didn’t realize who was he speaking to. Corrie ten Boom had great difficulty forgiving the man but she said, “And so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me. And as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes. “I forgive you, brother!” I cried. “With all my heart!”

For a long moment, we grasped each other’s hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God’s love so intensely as I did then.”

Corrie ten Boom could not forgive except by the grace and power of God flowing through her.

To me, that story is indeed a touchstone, a marker by which we can all stand. If God could give the badly abused Dutch watchmaker the strength to forgive the abuses she saw and experienced, then surely God can give us the strength to forgive others and to carry on with the burdens of life.

There are two other touchstones in my life. One is my father taught me the importance of making people laugh. The other one, is to serve, my mother (aided by dad sometimes) taught me to serve. Find a way in the world to serve.

And lastly, there are millions of problems in the world thrown into our minds by media all the time. We now know instantly when tragedy or violence strikes. We can’t solve all the problems. We can solve some but not them all.

Forgive, laugh, serve others and God. Therein lies the key, not necessarily to happiness but to contentment.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are the writer’s personal views and are not to be taken as being the view of the Banner & Press staff.

Well, older is a given, that’s calendar talk, but old is often a mindset. I have truly appreciated the gentle January we have just experienced. The ‘old’ part of me remembered the winter that the temperature never went above zero degrees (old temperature!!) day or night. My father was away, perhaps at university, perhaps teaching ( we lived near Graysville and his first full teaching year was at McCreary, so he made it home most weekends). As a farming family we had switched from cattle to sheep, easier for a young person to handle, keeping four or five Jersey cows for milk production. We had tried chickens, pigs, Black Angus cattle and stuck with the sheep for the longest. It was the chores that I recall distinctly. The water was already in the barn, it required filling troughs, not pail hauling it. The square bales were still stacked outside and needed to be lugged and hauled through slathers of snow. It was the warmth of the barn that was significant. From out of the cold, cold so deep it stiffened the hair in the nasal passage, into the moist atmosphere and safety of the barn. The noise upon entering was a cacophony of sheep baaing, cows mooing and the barn cats mewling. Each creature was eager to be fed and cared for. As the ewes settled down for their feed, the lambs rejoiced in their open play space, cavorting and stiff leg prancing with glee. The cows munched and crunched while the sound of milk filling the pail changed with the depth of the liquid. From the ping, ping, to the shush, shush, the froth and foam on the surface acting as a silencer. Even the cats, accepting a well directed stream of milk direct from the cow while waiting the bowl full, grew silent. I know the ‘old’ is romanticising the work!!

This week I have been engaged with thought provoking conversations. Has the younger generation lost the work ethic we so valued? And, if so, why? Perhaps we should be more realistic about the value of unrelenting hard work. Several of the proposals for marriage that I received were based on my ability to work hard! Yup, really that romantic! I believe that youth today will work devotedly when they have a purpose. The work (chores) assigned to me when I was a youth, benifted the family, the farm. The work was essential for the whole. And we knew that hard work brought results. We expected to own a vehicle, a home. It wasn’t unusual to expect to take vacations and toys. Some of these expectations are almost unrealistic today, simply because of the economy and the cost of living. This does feel like ‘old’ thinking.

The past was not always the good old days. There were my good old days for, more than surviving, I thrived. Thankfully, I have learned to embrace change. Move the furniture, change my coffee brand, present a new dish – knowing that I may refuse it, introduce new thoughts. That’s not ‘old’ thinking. I aim to be an old person, not an old thinking person!

News releases and leads: news@neepawabanner.com sports@neepawabanner.com Printing and office supplies: print@neepawabanner.com Advertising: ads@neepawabanner.com