My granddaughters and I were recently looking at pictures of my dad as a very young man entering the Army in WWII. His uniform was crisp and new, and his shoes very shiny. At the time, I’m sure he had no idea what that uniform, and his future, would look like.
Shortly before he went into the hospital for his last time, at age 91, he looked me straight in the eye and said, “You don’t ever want to be on the battlefield.” I thought at the time, what an odd thing to say. But later, I realized he may have been “making his peace” with whatever experiences he had in the war, knowing his time was short.
As a young man, he had been musical, and wrote fun, creative little poetry. One of his dear friends also told me that he had a sentimental side, which I didn’t really see as a child. Thinking about the extreme experiences he had as a young tank commander in France, Italy, and Germany, what he must have seen, and how it changed him forever, I suddenly saw a parallel to the Christian life. Continue reading →