As I’m driving home and drumming on the steering wheel to the songs of the local country station, Garth Brooks’ “Belleau wood” comes across the speakers. Though incorrect on the calendrical timing and location of the event, the song touches upon the truth of actual history.
In the winter of 1914, with the First World War under way, Christmas extended beyond the hearths and homes and out into the bludgeoned battlefields and mud-filled trenches of the Western Front, as a series of unofficial ceasefires were experienced along the Belgian Coast and Swiss Border. During the days leading up to Christmas, soldiers from opposing forces crossed battle lines to exchange seasonal greetings and conversation. In a number instance men from both sides ventured into common ground and came together on Christmas day. Those who were previously battling it out, sat down and talked, exchanged food, and gave souvenirs. Stories were related, and men were found playing football games together. Joint burial ceremonies and prisoner swaps were experienced, and several of these unions ended with the singing of Christmas carols. Unfortunately, the comradery was only temporary, as shortly after the completion of the holiday, the cease fire ended and the barrage of war continued into the coming year.
These token events of the past stand out to me of what the power of Christmas can do. I hope that during this Christmas season we can all take the opportunity to call a metaphorical ceasefire. I hope that we can slow down and take an inventory of what truly matters in this life. I hope that we can step away from the battle of life’s rigorous demands, call a timeout, and enjoy some peace and simplistic family time.
Each one of us has our own trench and battlefield, and at this special time of the season, may we climb out of the drudgery, away from the grind, and generate a new friendship or exude some additional hope to another. There is common ground between ourselves and those around us, and at this Christmas season we will find added joy if we will build upon it. We would do well to climb out of our personal trenches and expand our horizons. Let us learn from the cease fires of WWI, find the peace and commonality among us; and this time may it remain.
“But for just one fleeting moment, the answer seemed so clear
Heaven’s not beyond the clouds, it’s just beyond the fear
No, heaven’s not beyond the clouds, it’s for us to find it here.”
-Garth Brooks (Belleau Wood)