Sunday, August 31, 2003
Sunday, August 31, 2003
My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing
but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance
have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.
To make matters worse, they fell under what the military dubs, "friendly fire." The first two
attacks by the Germans on the pinned-down American battalion failed. American support
artillery, however, having been given the wrong grid coordinates, now threatened to finish the
battalion. The only method of getting a message back to the artillery unit that they were shelling
the wrong target was by carrier pigeon, and the pigeon handler lost one of his two birds. A
desperate message was attached to the last bird, and the bird flew up into a tree and sat.
Nothing seemed able to move the bird, so finally one soldier braved enemy fire to climb the tree
and shoo her away. As the bird took off, all the German riflemen fired at her. The pigeon lost a
leg, lost an eye, and survived a smashed breast--but delivered the message to stop the shelling.
The apparent hopelessness of that WW I battalion's position is not terribly different from the
"impossible" circumstances that most of us encounter at one time or another. While our Father
promises to care for us and not abandon us, He has never promised to remove us from our
trials, but God is always with us.
(James 1.2-
4
NRSV)
Toward the end of World War I, a battalion, the 308th, was ordered to push an attack against the
German army. The troops were battle-weary, low on supplies, and under strength from high
casualties. As they advanced under orders, however, they hit an undefended hole and broke
through the German lines. When the Germans closed the gap, the battalion found themselves
surrounded inside German territory.
Loving God, thank you for always being with me and carrying me through the trials of life. Amen.
