NOVEMBER 2018

November is a month of colors.  Most of us will think of the fall colors—oranges, yellows, reds—all those leaves that turn glorious this time of year.  For many of us, however, it is a month of colors for another reason.  This month reminds us of 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.  Veterans Day began when our country celebrated the “Armistice” that ended WWI—the war that was supposed to end all wars.  Nearly 117,000 Americans died and over 204,000 were wounded in that momentous conflict.  Of course, it did not end all wars.  In fact, it served as the prelude to the greater cataclysm of WWII in which over 407,000 died and more than 671,000 were wounded.  It was then that a grateful nation began to recognize 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.  November is also the month in which we celebrate Thanksgiving.  Our minds will conjure up pictures of Plymouth Rock and that first Thanksgiving.  We will probably long to imitate a Norman Rockwell type family gathering.  All that is good.  However, this month and this Thanksgiving, take time to give 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