On Christmas Eve…

 

War raged closer and closer. Guns boomed and bombs exploded sending sound waves through the tiny village. A German mother decided to move her children to the safety of a cabin deep in the woods outside the village. After building a fire in the fireplace, she and her family settled in to celebrate the sanctity of the holiday. It was Christmas Eve in Germany.

The rising smoke attracted visitors and a knock on the door startled her. "Who can that be?" she wondered. Bravely she opened the door to three American soldiers, the enemy. "We're lost and hungry and one of us is wounded. May we come in to the warmth", one of the young soldiers asked. The German woman's heart thumped with indecision. "What would happen to me and my family if the German army learned that I harboured the enemy?" she thought. She looked at the shivering young men and thought of their mothers.

"Come in", she said in broken English as she eyed the guns at their sides. "Put your guns on the woodpile, please. They will scare the children", she added as she helped the wounded man to the fire. After feeding them, everyone sat in the glow of the flames and tried to converse as best they could. It was an unusual gathering.

There was another knock on the door, strong and demanding. In German, a voice called out, "Let us in. We are so cold." The lady turned pale with fear. "What should I do", she thought frantically, "they are German soldiers".

The rapping continued and she hustled to the door. Without an alternative she opened it and explained to the soldiers that she had taken in three American soldiers.

"They were so cold and one of them is wounded. It is Christmas Eve, there is no reason to fight and have bloodshed on this night", she pleaded.

The two German soldiers stomped the snow off of their boots and stepped inside. "Leave your guns there with the Americans' , she asked. Quietly, they removed their weapons and placed them beside the others. Together the German and American soldiers sat in front of the fire.

One of the German officers was a medical man and tended the wound of his enemy. When midnight arrived, the group sang Silent Night, wished each other a Merry Christmas and slept side by side on the floor.

In the morning the German mother who made friends of enemies, directed the lost Americans to their line and hugged the young German Patrol officers as they departed.

Friendship is the only cement that will hold this world together! “Brotherhood of Man and Fatherhood of God” is what will ensure lasting peace in this world.