Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah and Happy New Year
Oh, the snowflakes fell in silence,
Over Belleau Wood that night.
For a Christmas truce had been declared,
By both sides of the fight.
As we lay there in our trenches,
The silence broke in two,
By a German soldier singing,
A song that we all knew.
Though I did not know the language,
The song was "Silent Night"
Then I heard my buddy whisper
‘All is calm and all is bright’.
Then the fear and doubt surrounded me,
‘Cause I'd die if I was wrong.
But I stood up on my trench,
And I began to sing along.
Then across the frozen battlefield,
Another's voice joined in.
Until one by one each man became
A singer of the hymn.
Then I thought that I was dreaming,
For right there in my sight,
Stood the German soldier,
'Neath the falling flakes of white.
And he raised his hand and smiled at me
As if he seemed to say,
Here's hoping we both live
To see us find a better way.
Then the devil's clock struck midnight,
And the skies lit up again.
And the battlefield where heaven stood
Was blown to hell again.
But for just one fleeting moment,
The answer seemed so clear.
Heaven's not beyond the clouds.
It's just beyond the fear.
No, heaven's not beyond the clouds.
It's for us to find it here.
Belleau Wood - Garth Brooks (1997)
The song is based on true accounts of the “Christmas truce” that happened a few times during World War I. He named it after one of the iconic battles of the war that involved United States Marines in 1918, although the Battle of Belleau Wood occurred in June.
…..
These missives can often be quite negative. There is a lot of bad going on out there and evil is far from being eradicated from the earth. Our differences are probably greater than before, but social media and other technologies have certainly amplified them.
That said, there is much to be thankful for. Much more, in fact, than there is to lament.
We all live in a blessed time and in blessed places. Few people who have ever lived, regardless of their relative status, experience the standard of living, freedom, lack of fear and health that we do today. I complain all the time in this newsletter and elsewhere about the things that are not as I would like them to be. But I try to offset that with prayers of thankfulness for the many good things I have that I do not deserve.
May you all, regardless of your political leanings, enjoy the blessings of family and friends and health and wealth during this holiday season. May the Prince of Peace be our guide as the new year dawns. May we lay down our rhetorical weapons for a few days in celebration of His birth.
We can pick them up again after New Year’s Day.
There will be no blog next week. My first several blogs of the new year will be my predictions for 2024 and even in to 2025. As I am wont to say, said predictions are worth what you are paying for them. But, maybe they will stimulate some fresh thinking of your own.
Until then, I remain respectfully,
Congressman John Campbell
Unto us, a child is born. Unto us, a son is given
Messiah - George Frederic Handel (1742)