Soothe Your Soul
Meditations to Help You through Life’s Painful Moments
by
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As I gaze through my kitchen window on yet ANOTHER snowy day the sun breaks through the clouds and touches a tiny blue glass heart I keep on the window sill and I find myself thinking “Valentine’s Day is coming and I’ve barely recovered from Christmas!”
Like many other people who are shy by nature, I find it difficult—during any holiday—to maintain balance between noise and quiet. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy some hoopla as long as I have time to recover in silence.
And—like many other people who have lived as long as I—I find it emotionally exhausting to experience all the joyful and painful memories prompted by holidays.
Sometimes it seems to me that Valentine’s Day is just another day for those who have lost loved ones to feel bereft. Just another day for those who have lost work to feel anxious. Just another day for those who have lost health to feel afraid. Just another day for those who have been abused to feel betrayed. Just another day for those who have no significant other to feel left out.
And ONE loss is usually not just ONE loss. I met a friend recently as I walked through Cherry Grove Cemetery. Her husband died two years ago. I asked how she was doing and she said, “I miss him so much! It seems like I’ve not just lost him. I’ve lost the friends we shared. Everything is different.”
As I continue to reflect upon loss my precious glass heart catches the sun’s rays and I feel hopeful because the heart is a gift given to me so that I may remember that I am not alone. I hold the precious glass in my hand a say a prayer for the women and children it represents. And not just for them but for all people who are suffering heartache. I hold the glass heart close to my heart and sing the old hymn by Cleland B. McAffee:
There is a place of quiet rest—near to the heart of God.
A place where sin cannot molest—near to the heart of God.
Oh Jesus, blest Redeemer, sent from the heart of God,
Hold us who wait before thee—near to the heart of God.
Valentine’s Day is another day for you to be kind to yourself. Let yourself remember and feel your losses. Tell God how you feel.
Valentine’s Day is another day for you to be kind to someone else. Reach out to another soul in need. Say a prayer. Send a card. Speak a kind word. In doing so we draw each other near to the heart of God.
Valentine’s Day is another day to remember God’s kindness to you. You are not alone! You ARE loved! You always HAVE been loved! You always WILL be loved.
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About the Book
Author Rev. Margaret Vredeveld knows firsthand the sorrow and anguish of a loved one’s passing. In April of 2001, her youngest daughter, Sheri Joy, died at the age of twenty-eight of ovarian cancer. During that time, Vredeveld served as her daughter’s spiritual guide while continuing to pastor her congregation; she soon came to realize that she had come to a better understanding of difficult times her parishioners faced. In Soothe Your Soul, Vredeveld shares a host of meditations to help people navigate some of life’s most painful moments. Based on her personal life experiences and complemented with Scripture readings and songs, the meditations address a variety of topics, including conflict, confusion, gossip, hostility, self-doubt, anger, depression, and the death of a loved one. Filled with words to calm the spirit and uplift the heart, Soothe Your Soul offers reflections and teachings to guide people through some of life’s most trying times and experiences.
About the Author
Rev. Margaret Vredeveld is an ordained United Church of Christ pastor who served her congregation in Clare, Michigan, for fourteen years. In retirement, she fulfills the office of pastor by presiding at funerals and weddings and by preaching occasionally. Vredeveld and her husband have three grown daughters, a son-in-law, and two granddaughters.