Children – Al's Painting and Poetry

How is your sense of wonder?

This painting is of Mount Hood from the Willamette valley of western Oregon. On clear days, this mountain delighted our view as it stood over 11, 200 feet above sea level, 10,800 feet higher than our mountain slope farm. This frequent sight along with many other beautiful scenes has instilled within me a sense of wonder and awe for the beauties of this earth.

I Wonder
By Allen S Vester

    The words “I wonder” sing a pleasant tune
    A melody of hatching thoughts
    Of hope, reborn midst hate and ruin
    And start each quest for knowledge sought
    From winds and stars and shining moon.

    What child has been that hasn’t brought
    The question of “I wonder whom
    Did make the mounts where snow is caught
    And wove the stars on heaven’s loom?”
    To elder’s knee for wiser thought.
           I wonder whom.

Cultivating a sense of wonder

When you gaze at a starry sky do you feel a sense of wonder? Sometimes, does it seem as if you are viewing those stars for the very first time as you marvel at vastness and beauty of the night sky. Continue reading “How is your sense of wonder?”

Marriage, the miracle of separate beings becoming one

Forty-two years ago, this month, a miracle began in my life. A lovely, intelligent, and gifted young lady became my wife. Just prior to our wedding, I wrote the following poem called the Treasure Chamber.

The Treasure Chamber
By Al Vester

The ruddy glow of life ran from the ruby walls
Into the swirling darkness of the outer entrance hall.
A tune is singing softly, a pure and simple call,
To beckon someone worthy to come within the hall.

Come, behold the treasures earned by years of work
Of faith, integrity, honor, and courage not to shirk.
For within this ruby hall with ivory beams over-bending,
Resides a heart that’s filled with hope, a soul that needs befriending.

Come my bride, my joy and life, open doors to exaltation;
Come within and be my wife by a priesthood coronation.
God’s the one who lit this chamber, built its throne and made its treasure.
All that’s good is His and mine, and now through Him it shall be thine.

Why choose marriage?

It always seems miraculous to me that women can and do put up with men. Most women are softer, gentler, and more emotionally connected with the world around us. Continue reading “Marriage, the miracle of separate beings becoming one”

What Is Your Family Heritage?

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. Continue reading “What Is Your Family Heritage?”

What is the Worth of a Child?

The Tender Soul
By Al Vester

The clay of the mind is soft and fine
In youth’s well watered garden.
Impressions hold both quick and bold
And soon the mold does harden.

Loving words add gentle curves
But hate is rough and jagged.
The rounded soul all joy beholds,
But shunned are the cold and cragged.

The tender soul will ever know
The path you have sought to guide him.
So teach with care those children dear,
You have power to free or bind them.

A Child’s Worth

To look into the face of a new born child is to see the greatest of all gifts in the lives of a young couple. Continue reading “What is the Worth of a Child?”