The Happiest Christmas Ever

A young World War I officer had been fatally wounded. As he lay dying in the trench, he was in great pain but he kept thinking of the unborn child his wife was carrying. The last thing he said before he died was, “Well, at least I know that if it’s a boy, he won’t have to go through this.” Back in 1914 there was a lot of talk about World War I being the war to end all wars. Many of those who died felt very deeply that their sacrifice was making it possible for their children never to have to go to war. But their children did: in World War II; in the Korean War; in the War in Vietnam. And now it is Christmas Day, a time when once again we celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace. It is a time to remember that young prospective father who died in World War I, and all the others who have died…