Thought for the Day - Wednesday 11 November

Thought for the Day Wednesday 11th November “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death”[b] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’ (Revelation 21: 4) This is the anniversary of the armistice of 11 November 1918, which is now replaced by Remembrance Sunday in the UK and Veterans Day in the US. I, as far as I know, didn’t lose any family members in either war although my grandad, my dad and my uncles were involved. My grandad was a dispatch rider in France in the first war and the rest were in various places in the second one. My dad actually was a ‘Chindit’ and spent the second war in the Burmese jungle. His brother was a ‘desert rat’ and spent his war there. None of them ever spoke about his experiences. There are still wars going on in the world, and still men and women dying in them. A lot of us have loved ones in the forces and worry about them. I thank God daily that my two children are both home safe. I won’t say ‘well’ but they are safe. In the first war, the men who came home with mental health issues were termed ‘shellshocked’, an apt description. Nowadays it’s got a fancy name, ‘Post Traumatic Stress Disorder’, this word does nothing to express what these men and women went (and are still going) through. To see friends and platoon mates dying in the way they do now is harrowing. Not the same fire power they had back then, now it’s all laser sighted and up to the minute pinpointed aim armament. Certainly, biological warfare seems to be in the past, we should Praise God for this mercy. I am sure that almost everyone reading this knows somebody has lost someone in one of these ‘recent’ wars, our prayers are with them. On Remembrance Day we should be remembering those who have been lost in ALL wars, and we do, every year. Even this year when we cannot meet in person to join together to remember at the local war memorial, we can still remember in our heads and hearts. Prayer Loving God We thank you that you never forget those whose lives have been cut short by the horrors of war. Help us also to remember them also as we give thanks for their sacrifice. Lord, we ask that you may bring harmony between countries still warring with each other and with the people causing hatred and division. Please watch over the men, women and children caught up in the violence of hatred. Amen