This week I have been thinking a lot about Remembrance Day. When I was thinking about my dishes this morning my mind went to the mothers who cared for their families during WWII. There must have been many trips to fetch water for the day. She probably had many mornings of improvising and putting on a brave face for her children despite unforeseen and desperate circumstances. My mind also goes to the mothers who face these challenges today. To the families currently living in war torn countries or living in sub-standard conditions in our own country.
As I've gotten older the moment of silence taken at 11:11 each Remembrance Day has held different thoughts and prayers. As a child, images of the "old" veterans I had just seen or heard of that morning filled my mind. I would thank God that I live in Canada and pray for my family that had to endure the war. As a young adult the knowledge of present day war impacted myself and my extended family directly. I thought of my cousin (through marriage) Glen, of his family, friends and the colleagues he fought with in Afghanistan. I thanked God for people who risk their lives to save innocent ones. I thanked God that I live in Canada in peace and freedom.
As an adult one minute doesn't seem like enough time to lift up all my thoughts and prayers. There seems to be so many things to process and be thankful for. In addition to all the thoughts mentioned above, I am thankful for the Canadian soldiers that marched through the streets of the Netherlands to bring freedom to my family. I am thankful that my great-grandparents loaded most or all of their children on a ship to Canada in search of a new start. I am thankful God was faithful to them and provided for them along the way. I pray for the hearts and minds of those who have and still live and fight during any war. I know there are images that still haunt their memories and dreams.
This week two books have come to mind during my reflections. One is From Far Away by Robert Munsch. It is the true story of a family who moves from a war torn country to Canada, told from a little girl's perspective. From this story I am reminded that there are still people living in fear, trying to care for their children the best they can with what they can. I pray God will give them what they need, when they need it. I can't even imagine what it would be like to fear for your children's lives on a daily basis.
The other book is called Once We Were Brothers by Liam Taggart and Catherine Lockhart. This is a novel about a Jewish family living in Poland during WWII. The timeline goes between present day and war time. In the story one of men was asked why his family didn't leave their home before their town was occupied. His response has stuck with me. He said that they kept thinking and hoping someone would come and stop the Nazi troops before it got any worse. I just felt so sad that things got so much worse for so many people and they were left waiting and hoping for years before someone came to free them.
The last book I'm going to quote is the Bible. It is the only book I can read that gives lasting hope even when things seem hopeless. In Revelation 21 God tells us that one day there will be a new heaven and new earth. This is how it is described in verse 4, "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." I look forward to this because there seems to be so much mourning, crying and pain in our broken world. Thank you God for the ultimate freedom we have in Jesus. Thank you that we can put our hope in him and that he is preparing this new heaven and earth for us.
This is a photo of my Pake (grandpa) visiting a grave sight in Holland this spring.
