Love

Welcome!

My first published children’s book is Wendel The Wind Turbine (WTWT) and you will see some of the original illustrations throughout this website. I will let you know about the illustrator, Marie Wiedefeld in another post and perhaps interview her! First, I wanted to talk about one of the core, underlying themes in WTWT:

Love

We are each unrepeatable human beings, unique in looks, abilities and gifts. Adjusting Maslow’s Hierarchy a bit, I believe that our greatest need is love. Studies have shown that those babies who receive more affection and holding grow strongest, both physically and emotionally. Time and affection with children is essential in their early development.

Of course, Wendel had no parents. Wendel could not be held as a human can be, but he was immediately loved by his family. Wendel felt love during his construction, when the children played below and looked joyously up at him. He was, like many of us in childhood, proud of our families.

And then come those school-age years! We see other children from other families. We witness other behaviors. We see others who excel at tasks which we do not. We may compare our bodies and shapes. In my own childhood, I expected my parents to tell me I was smart and beautiful when I came home and voiced my insecurities. It did not seem to help. Then, in church I learned that Jesus loved us, that he died for us — and not only that, but like the one sheep in one hundred who went astray, he loved me individually, as I was.

Of course insecurities take time to resolve. In WTWT the huge wind farm turbine named Sylvia befriends Wendel, and helps him through his time of need. She could have reacted with superiority, or even indifference, but she reached out repeatedly and with caring. She loved.

Notice those around you today. Who are the Wendels placed in your path today? Perhaps you can’t hold them or interact directly, but you can do something very, very powerful for them. You can lovingly pray for them, placing them in the arms of the Author of Love itself.

Have a wonderful day!