A MONTH OF COLOR
As we enter to the eleventh month of this year, I was reminded of an article that I wrote four years ago. As I reread that piece, I could not help but be reminded of the relevance of its words for this November. November is a month of colors, fall colors—oranges, yellows, reds—the glory of leaves flashing their final glory before winter. But November is also a month of colors for another reason. November brings to our attention the many uniform colors worn by the Veterans of our Military. There are the blues of the Navy and Coast Guard, the greens of the Army, the royal blues of the Air Force, and those marvelous black, red, and gold uniforms worn by a few good men, the Marines.
On November 11, we observe Veterans Day. Originally the day was called Armistice Day in celebration of the “Armistice” that ended WWI—a war that was supposed to end all wars. Nearly 117,000 Americans died and over 204,000 were wounded in that momentous conflict. Tragically, rather than end war, it served as the prelude to the greater cataclysm of WWII in which over 407,000 died and more than 671,000 were wounded. Since then, a grateful nation has begun recognizing the importance of honoring those who gave so much that we might celebrate the freedoms we have in America. With the coming and ending of WWII, Korea, Viet Nam, and now the Iraq and Afghan conflicts, we realize how indebted we are to the men and women who sacrificed so much that we might be free and remain free. For this we continue to say to our veterans, “Thank you for your service.” November is also the month in which we celebrate a day of Thanksgiving. On the fourth Thursday of the month, our nation’s mind will conjure up pictures of Plymouth Rock and that first Thanksgiving. We will likely long to imitate a Norman Rockwell type family gathering. November is a month in which we should realize how much we have to be thankful for. We thank God for our freedom, for our opportunities, for our families, for our faith and the right to practice it as we wish, for our ability to express our agreements and our disagreements without fear of retribution. November is a month to develop a habit that should characterize every month. Perhaps most of all, let this month be a time for giving thanks for those you will never meet or ever know. It is their names that color this “one nation under God” with the colors of Red, White, and Blue. Pastor Mike
