Not all of us will ever feel that adrenaline surge that bolsters courage in the heat of the moment. Far more often, we would do well to follow the example of this nun and go about our daily tasks resolved to meet our own responsibilities, whatever they may be. It may be tiresome, ordinary, and unglamorous. It may be a quietly precarious position. But we must continue to perform our tasks with the conviction that God will take care of us as he sees fit. (JG)
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.
October 22
Before going ashore on Utah Beach, someone handed Louie Havard a pocket Bible that he carefully placed in the left breast pocket of his uniform jacket. He didn’t think too much about it after that due to the heavy fighting on D-Day and afterward. His unit, Company L of the 4th Division, remained in almost constant contact with the enemy as it fought inland.
A few days later Havard was seriously wounded near Cherbourg. He was struck in the chest by shrapnel, which would have entered his heart, except for the presence of the little pocket Bible in his chest pocket. The book deflected the metal fragment just enough to miss his heart and go into his left arm. He was evacuated to a field hospital where he underwent the first of many operations. After his first surgery, the doctor presented him the Bible that was in his pocket and told him that it had saved his life. Years later, Havard’s daughter observed that she and two succeeding generations also owed their lives to that Bible.444
We are amazed at the story of one small Bible deflecting a piece of shrapnel and extending a man’s life. His family joyfully accepted this event as a miracle and a blessing to themselves and untold descendents to come. Even more amazing is the knowledge that every Bible contains all that is necessary to save human souls, and that millions have been blessed by the power of this great book. Every human being is able to claim this greater miracle through the life-changing message revealed in its pages. Through Jesus Christ we are offered the unearned gift of a relationship with our Father in heaven during this life and throughout eternity.
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
October 23
Pvt. 1st Class Albert Kishler fought with the 9th Army in Europe. In December 1944 he wrote to a friend to describe his thoughts during combat. Like many others who faced constant fear he felt God’s presence. Sunday—God’s Day. The man who said that there are no atheists in foxholes had hit the nail on the head. When the sun goes down and darkness steals in, life to the infantrymen becomes nothing more than a gust of wind. The nights are long, fifteen hours and cold and you are invariably dug in the middle of a sugar beet field—Germany is all beet fields, orchards, and towns. To get back to the foxhole, there you are—a grenade in one hand, more handy, and your other hand fingering your BAR [Browning Automatic Rifle]—it’s you and good old Mother Earth and God. And when the time comes that you leave that hole and charge across several hundred yards of enemy territory with machine guns burning, 88’s and mortars thinning your numbers, God is never forgotten. To us, death is no distant unknown…445
When we live in relative prosperity and good health, death can be a remote possibility—in fact, it can be a distant unknown. Unfortunately, as we go about the routine of our lives, God himself can become a distant unknown. Albert Kishler’s story reminds us how this can change in a life-and-death situation. With such a reminder, we know we should not wait for a crisis to think seriously about our relationship to God. The goal of our Christian walk should be to grow constantly closer to him through daily prayer, study, and worship. God wants us to share our hopes and to give our fears to him, whether great or small. As our relationship with him grows and deepens, his presence will be an immediate comfort to us on a daily basis and in the crises that we must inevitably face.
And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
October 24
It was a strange church service. The little Belgian village was in ruins after being fought over only a few days before. Battle-weary veterans came back from the front lines to join in. Replacements coming up also took part. It was an unusual mixture of dirty and clean uniforms, expressionless stares and boisterous enthusiasm. The men from the front lines had seen too much, the replacements too little. Tanks and jeeps were pulled up all around the little church where an American chaplain and a Belgian priest were conducting an ongoing service for anyone who could stop. One soldier described the scene as the chaplain recited the Lord’s Prayer:
As he neared the end, German 88s started to drop nearby. No one moved. Just as he finished, a shell landed quite near the church. Normally, men would have been making a mad dash for cover, but for some strange reason, nobody moved we just stood there. Then behind me on the opposite side of the church, a man with a deep voice started reciting the 23rd Psalm, and soon everyone joined in. The shelling continued, but it seemed that the voices of the men became stronger. I guess the thought was, if we are going to die, it might as well be in a church.446
