I can’t imagine what it must have been like to be in the military service away from home and living in danger at Christmas. I was the same age as many of my friends and relatives who served in Vietnam. Through them, I have gathered a little, but only a very little, understanding.
Huey, a friend, was raised in Belgium, where he lived was so close to the border of France that he grew up speaking French. Later, his family moved to South Africa and then finally to the USA. He enlisted in the military and because of his language skills, he was assigned to lead reconnaissance missions. He told of Christmases and how lonely, threatened and forgotten they felt. To try to feel some better, they gathered under the stars and sang Silent Night. They were out in the middle of the jungle, in enemy territory at night – still they risked discovery by trying to bring a little of home closer to them.
The closest I’ve ever been to that kind of feeling was being a couple of thousand miles from home while at college. I still got to travel to my sis- ter’s house in Oklahoma and be with a small part of family for Christmas. My experience was nothing in comparison to those soldiers. It must have been tortuous for them.
The thing that really brought at least some of what it was like for them happened when my wife’s brother, Ron, came home for Christmas. He was in the Marines, serving in Vietnam. He extended his tour over there in order to come home for Christmas. Connie and I were not married yet, but I spent almost all my free time at her house. I celebrated Christmas day with her family that year.
After opening presents and enjoying a wonderful meal, we teens began to be a little bored and wanted something more to do. We finally decided to go bowling and enjoy a few games together. Ron drove and I observed him during the drive. His eyes were darting from here to there, checking out every crook and cranny, every dark corner or shadowed bush. He would quickly look up in the rear-view mirror and then back to the horizon, constantly scanning, scanning, scanning.
He was in his hometown. He was safe. There weren’t enemies hiding behind every bush, but he had lived in conditions in which there were the possibilities of enemies there for long enough that he couldn’t relax. He was so trained for the need to be vigilant that here at home in a non-threatening environment, he still couldn’t destress, calm down or mellow out.
As followers of Jesus, maybe we are too relaxed sometimes. 1 Peter 5:8 warns us to, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Luke 12:35 and Colossians 4:2 also warn us to be “watchful.” The enemy is stalking. My friend, Huey, got caught in an ambush. Bullets tore through his clothes leaving many holes in them. He barely survived. He was hit in the left wrist by one of the bullets. It left him with two fingers and a thumb that still functioned on that left hand. The enemy was real. The enemy is still real and dangerous. “Be alert!” “Be watchful.” The enemy, the devil, wants to destroy your life. Don’t let down your guard. Be vigilant, and be sober minded so you can have a wondrous victory in the end.
