Feburary 2008 Newsletter
Ron Kervin
Writer/Author, Motivational Speaker
Noteworthy news:
My son Caleb began his first semester of study at the University of Montevallo.
Let’s wish him success in his pursuit of the higher education he will need to meet the
physical responsibilities he will face in his life. Let’s also hope that they have a program
for the economically challenged when they send me the tuition bill.
Upcoming events:
Work continues on my next two manuscripts. The next book in my Christian series titled “Walking Point” is nearing completion and the cover is almost completed.
The next book in my action adventure series goes retro to the time in our country’s history when our Native American ancestors ruled our great nation. The book is titled “Tuscalotta Dragon” and covers the life and deeds of a great Muscogee warrior name Talo during the wars between the Creek nation and the Cherokee nation of the Carolinas.
Quote for the month:
About the only thing that comes without effort is old age
Anonymous
Scriptures for the month:
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that God loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
I John 4:10
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have ever lasting life.
John 3:16
For Your Consideration:
As a young boy growing up in rural Covington County Alabama, we were economically depressed. I believe that is the current trendy word for being poor. We did not have any toys to play with and if we entertained ourselves we had to invent ways to do so without the aid of all the toys children enjoy today. When I was five years old, television sets were relatively new and we did not own one and no one we knew owned one. We did not know what air conditioning was and did not have a refrigerator or modern appliances. When we went out to play it was just us and whatever nature provided that was not too dangerous and did not hurt us too badly or kill us. There are a lot of folks today who just can not understand that level of poverty. I know my children do not understand it and have a difficult time understanding it when I have tried to explain it to them.
My father had four brothers and when I was five years old each of those brothers had two sons including my father’s two boys. That added up to ten rowdy, roughneck, bare-footed, wild country boys at any given time. We entertained ourselves by fighting and scrapping among ourselves, running wild through the woods and doing whatever else our devious little minds could come up with.
One hot summer morning all of us wild little boys gathered at my grandmother’s house on her back porch. The only grandparent I had an opportunity to get to know was my mother’s mother. All my other grandparents were dead before I was born. The entertainment of the morning for us boys this particular day was throwing cats off the back porch onto the backs of the dogs in the yard, so we could see them fight. We were hooping, yelling and jumping around because we had a big ole tomcat that could hold his own with any of the dogs and he was putting on a show for us.
Before I knew what had happened, my grandmother came out of the house and grabbed me by the nape of the neck and said, “Boy, I will beat you from kan to kaint. I told you not to do that.” That is exactly what she said and that is exactly how she spelled it “from KAN to KAINT.”
Now, I need to share this with you. I don’t think I have ever met a meaner, more hard-shelled and tougher person than my grandmother. That statement includes those brown boot drill sergeants I had to endure during basic training. I went through basic training with the US Army back during a time when recruits did not enjoy the personal rights they do today. These old line drill sergeants actually knocked us around when they felt like it. Their type of correction came with an exclamation point at the end of a boot toe or the back of a hand.
As a young 18-year-old recruit I had to pick myself up off the ground more than once because I made a mistake or an error in judgment around those DI’s. I had a leg up on most of the recruits because I had spent most of my young adult life around my grandmother and she was every bit as tough and mean as those drill sergeants. In my way of thinking there is a place for being touch and mean. I appreciate that tool as an effective aid for preparing the individual in need. After all was said and done, I appreciated and respected those old brown boot drill sergeants and I loved that hard shelled woman who was my grandmother.
I did not understand what my grandmother was saying at the time she caught me throwing those cats off the porch onto those dogs. All I could understand was that she was mad. Out of the ten boys on the porch that morning, I was going to be the one to get the punishment. That was not all my grandmother was telling me; I could not understand that until I grew up and had children of my own. It was at that point that I understood what she was actually saying when she said from “Can to Can’t.” As mean and hard-shelled as she was, my grandmother loved me and she was constrained by that love when it came to her actions regarding me.
When I had children of my own, I loved them in the same manner and there were limitations on what I would do to punish them. Now I am certain that my grandmother could have snapped my neck when I was five-years old, but her love for me prevented her from doing that. She could whip me and she did but she could not hit me very hard due to that love factor. The few times I found it absolutely necessary to spank my children, I could not do any real damage because of that tremendous amount of love I have for them. The type of love that parents should have for their children and do have is a restraining type that limits what they can and can not do for them.
The type of love I am speaking of is also an undeserved type that can not be attained by actions on the part of the recipient. I did not earn the love that my grandmother had for me; I was just born into her family and I belonged to her by blood line. The same is true for my children. They have not earned the type of love I have for them; they were just born to me and have my blood line.
All those many years ago, my grandmother was telling me that she was restricted in what she could do to punish me. Today God tells us the same thing in his word to us. I have often heard people ask why God doesn’t just destroy those who are disobedient to him. Well, it is the same as with my grandmother, because he loves everyone enough to be constrained by that love. That type of love, however, has its limitations. I grew up and away from my grandmother. My children grew up and away from me. It does not matter how much I love them, if they walk away from me and choose not to obey my desires for them, they will suffer the consequences of their actions.
The same applies to the love of God for us. We do not deserve the measure of love God exhibits toward us and we can not earn it. We are just born into his family through the blood of Christ when we are obedient to his word. If we walk away from his commandments and choose not to obey his will for us, then we will suffer the consequences of our actions regardless of how big a heart God has or how much he loves us. The key is obedience to his written word, not our carnal desires.
I hope you are more fortunate than I and never get caught throwing cats off the porch onto dogs just to see them fight.
On the lighter side:
If you can laugh at it, then you can live with it.
Anonymous
Parting Thoughts:
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If the word be good, then spread it!
I can use all the exposure I can get. I appreciate your telling your friends about my work. I also appreciate your support and encouragement.
Until next month, may God bless your pilgrimage! May you live long and prosper and may the force be with you!