Amidst the raucous melody of "Froggy went a'courting” with individualized lyrics that began “Van went a'courting; he did ride,” it all began.  Thus Dr. Van Munroe Arnold was introduced into the world of his Ladye and her brood.  And what a ride he signed on for!

          Little did he know that his gentle, trusting spirit would be challenged with all manner of adventures from his Ladye’s children and their spouses. From the innocent request of the oldest of his Ladye’s children and a future son-in-law to test drive his famous Arnomobile, he ended up with a mangled chassis that just wouldn't drive quite as straight as it used to if at all.  Unflappable Van took it all in stride.

          Another of his Ladye’s children decided to apply for a Junior Year Abroad program in Ghana.  Distance from home, foreign cultures, unknown drinking water sources, none of these deterred Van from encouraging and supporting such a trek to a continent never before traveled to by any family member. Unflappable Van took it all in stride.

          Yet still another of his Ladye’s children decided to not just visit another country but to actually move to Denmark.  When word came that this member of the brood had fallen in love with a Danish girl he would marry, Van’s embracing spirit cheered them on with fond dreams of when he and his Ladye could visit Denmark.  Unflappable Van took it all in stride.

          In his memorable and well-loved sermon, Come before Winter, Van writes,

Every great opportunity of life has its limitations in time.  To wait, to put off may mean Winter will come and it will be too late.

          Part of Van’s great legacy for us relates directly to this quote and to Van’s strong faith and belief that opportunities are not to be feared but to be savored and embraced.  Thus he has modeled for all of his Ladye’s children and their spouses the real-life meaning of the first of Stephen Coveys principles in Seven Habits of Highly Effective People which is to be proactive.  Van’s encouragement has been to take action and enjoy all that life has to offer.

          Van has also exemplified through his adventures with his Ladye’s children another important idea from his “Come Before Winter” sermon.

Whatever we do counts for something, good or evil.

          Words and actions from Van have always been consistent, and they have always been couched in the well-known verse, “but the greatest of these is Love.” Whatever Van has done has counted for good whether it be, for example, wise, thoughtful counsel (never unsolicited) or his steadfast ability to remain unflappable through all manner of adventures of his Ladye children.

          In The Book of Common Prayer there is a question /answer section in the back.  The answer to the question, “What is prayer?” reads as follows:

Prayer is responding to God, by thought and by deeds, with or without words.

          Using the above definition of prayer, we believe that it is fair to say that Van’s entire life has been an example of prayer.  His life is about living life in the present so that, as his sermon “Come Before Winter” says, one will...

...have everything prepared for winter, for the testing times.