Bifocals

Monday, October 23, 2006

By Jim Van Wingerden

This past weekend was a very busy time at Calvin College.  In addition to this being Family Weekend, Calvin’s Parent Council, our 30+ member parent advisory board, conducted its October meetings on campus, providing for a busy week and weekend in the parent relations office.

The Parent Council gathered for their first meeting on Thursday night.  There was a time for the parent-members to introduce themselves.  The parents shared how their students came to choose Calvin and many reflected on what they have come to appreciate about their sons’ and daughters’ experiences at Calvin.

I wished I had recorded all the wonderful stories I heard at this session.  We listened to story after story of the many ways that these students and their families have been positively affected by their experiences at Calvin College.

About two-thirds of the way through the session one of the parents commented, “You know, I’ve heard a lot of stories tonight but they all share one thing in common.  They are all evidence of God’s faithfulness.” This parent went on to talk about the life-changing imprint that Calvin College has made on her children, on her and her husband, and also the two generations of her family that preceded her Calvin experience. 

I love to think and talk about the Calvin experience in that way—as strong evidence of God’s faithfulness!  Evidenced in the way that God demonstrates his faithfulness to your sons and daughters through their experiences here and in their life beyond Calvin, but also evidenced in the thousands of ways that Calvin students help show God’s faithfulness to the world through their lives of Christian vocation.

This past weekend was also the setting for two days of meetings of the Calvin Alumni Association board, a variety of concerts and shows, a lecture by Philip Yancey, and class reunions for those who graduated from Calvin in 1976 and 1981.

I’m thankful to say that I graduated from Calvin College in 1976 and attended my 30th reunion this past weekend.  It was good to reconnect with classmates I hadn’t seen in many years and to enjoy the opportunities that a college reunion provides.

The Master of Ceremonies* of the reunion program began the evening by looking out over a decidedly graying crowd of 50-something-baby-boomers and remarking, “I don’t recall so many of us wearing bifocals 30 years ago.” After the ensuing laughter he went on to observe, “You know, bifocals really aren’t so bad.  They can serve as a reminder of God’s faithfulness, helping us to not only look backwards, as we do at a reunion, but also to look forward, as we share how God has been at work through our lives these past 30 years.”

I like those thoughts and that image—the dual purpose of bifocals.  As evidence of God’s faithfulness.  I pray that we as parents gain the dual vision that bifocals can afford—the ability to see two images of our students.  The ability to see them up close, as they are today with all of today’s joys and challenges, but also the vision to see them through the lense of God’s faithfulness, becoming the Christian women and men that God intends them to be.

* (I want to share that our reunion MC, Dr. Bob Keeley, did triple-duty that evening, serving as not only our reunion MC but also as member of BOTH bands that provided entertainment that evening—The Lazy Blue Tunas and the 30th reunion of Blue Sky, a popular Calvin band from the 70s.  Bob Keeley’s “day job” is teaching your daughters and sons as the chair of Calvin’s Education Department).

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October snow

Thursday, October 12, 2006

By Jim Van Wingerden

A mom called today and asked if the snowy view she saw on the Calvin Webcam was a joke.  It’s not.  It’s snowing in Grand Rapids today.  An unusually early snow. 

I’ve been feeling a bit negligent and have been wanting to find some time to write something for the FMW blog this week.  It’s been a busy few weeks with preparations for Family Weekend and the October meeting of the Parent Council next weekend.  Now as I look at the view from my window it occurs to me that this image will have to suffice as my contribution this week.  A picture is worth a thousand words.

We’re praying for warmer weather next weekend for Family Weekend.  Rest assured that we’ll have a great weekend for Calvin parents and families regardless of the weather.

There’s a saying here in Michigan.  “If you don’t like the weather just wait around for 5 minutes--it’s likely to change.”

Hard to believe that I mowed my lawn three days ago.  There’s at least one benefit of an early snow:

My lawn and my yard look just as good as my neighbor’s today.  And with very little effort on my part.

Hope to see you soon at Family Weekend!

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