Years ago, as we moved in to a new house and lacked furniture for all the empty spaces, we put plants in one corner. Included in the arrangement were a wood sculpture of a crane by my father and a ceramic pot created by my son. My painting linked the creations of three generations in the light of a summer morning.
The Green Corner
By Al Vester
Calmly crane and pot do sit
Revealing now our family’s wit
The crane by Dad, the pot by son
Loving gifts which they have done.
Now among the plants they fit
And to that verdant clasp submit.
Where fish remind us of the fun
Of swims beneath a tropic sun,
Those woven palms, shaped with skill,
Remind us of those travels still
Then bring us back, where we’ve begun,
To this corner set in slanting sun.
Sunrise lights the distant hills
Spilling hope through window sills,
Then and now are closely knit
As past achievements now are lit,
Our prayers ascend up that His will
Does smile upon our beings still,
And grants us power by His might
To welcome life in morning’s light.
Family Heritages
Every generation builds their accomplishments upon the works of previous generations. Countless of prior generations have left the current generation a legacy of language, art, science and a host of inventions ranging from toothbrushes to rockets capable of carrying men to the moon. Generation upon generation, bit by bit our modern world had been shaped by what has been done before our time.
But ancient history for a little child means stories of his or her parent’s childhood. And, the most important cultural values in their world are those of their own family. My grandchildren study the history of the Vietnam war with the same detachment that I experienced when studying World War II. That was my parent’s lifetime, not mine. Television and radio technology were a part of my everyday life just like computers and cell phone technology are a regular part of life for my grandchildren. Histories continue to expand and societies change, but the love of parents for their children and grandchildren continues to remain a powerful influence upon the next generation. The influence of a loving parent on their child is more powerful than schools and governments. The time and interests that an engaged parent shares with their child lifts the child’s vision of what they can become in life. A parent’s love often instills in the child a desire to emulate his or her father and mother. It is no small coincidence that the children of farmers often want to learn farming, and the children of doctors often desire to go into medicine.
The subtlest and most important values passed on by a parent are those of personal morals, the respect for others, and the concepts of God and our relationship with Him. Schools and governments are poor teachers of morals, and the lives of celebrities are usually disastrous role models. Children raised without the influence of a loving father and mother usually suffer a low self-esteem. Such a child tends to worry more about survival than kindness or consideration for others. Most of the instabilities in society can be traced to the instabilities in the lives of individuals. Likewise, a society with stable, loving families tends to have more stable and law-abiding citizens.
What does your family heritage consist of? Hopefully, you have received a love for learning and an understanding that the kind of thoughts that you and your children entertain will influence the kind of persons that you, and they, will become, either to be gentle and kind on one hand, or harsh and prone to violence on the other.
Gratefully, I appreciate my heritage from my parents of honesty and creativity, and I would hope that everyone could find as much joy in their respective family’s heritage.
