John 15:12-13 – This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. (NASB 1995)

My father's parents divorced in the 1930s. Grandma Smith was forty-seven when she had Dad, the youngest of seven. Throughout his boyhood, whenever visitors were expected, it was his job to beg for food in the neighbourhood. He could not read well and quit school in grade seven. Dad was a troubled and quiet man, and so I cherish the time when, with tears in his eyes, he told me the story of how his older brother saved his life. A team of horses bolted, but Russell managed to stop them just before Dad would have been trampled. Although he drove truck for more than 40 years, my father found it very difficult to travel outside his home area. I have always felt a connection to my Uncle Russell, and after Dad passed away in his eighties, I wanted to visit his brother's grave in Belgium.

Corporal Russell Smith, Highland Light Infantry, already wounded, went back to the front to serve in the Battle of the Scheldt. The operation was to free the estuary to open the port of Antwerp. He was killed on October 31st, 1944. He and many of the Canadians who died there and elsewhere in Belgium were brought to the cemetery in the village of Adegem, Belgium. Not long after his death, Grandma Smith saw Dad off on the train with a package of sandwiches. He was seventeen, heading west to be trained. The war ended before he got overseas.

Romans 13:7 – Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect then respect; if honor, then honor. (NIV)

In May 2016, my husband and I rented a car in Brussels and drove to the small, beautifully kept cemetery. To be the first of the Smith family to see where he was buried was an honour. The sun came out as I found his grave. A small group of children from the village school entered the cemetery. Their teacher explained that these grade six students, each with a clipboard, were there to learn about the soldiers. One lad walked over to me and said, "Respect".

The next Remembrance Day, I stood in front of my television watching the service from Ottawa, our national capital. I said a prayer of thanksgiving for my Uncle Fred (who came back from the front an alcoholic), Uncle Russell, Dad, and Grandma Smith. It was not uncommon to see a deer in the little bush behind our backyard, but right then, four deer nosed up to the window and looked in. I marvelled at the comfort that I received, and I dried my tears.

On this day of remembering, let us thank God for the selfless people of our world, past and present, who have risked their lives to protect us, to preserve our freedom, and to keep the peace.

Prayer: Dear Lord, with thanksgiving to You, we remember those who put their lives on the line to protect us all, those who gave their lives, those still alive who suffer from PTSD, the front line workers, emergency workers, and those who have endangered their lives not only for their loved ones, but also for total strangers. Amen.

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About the author:

Sandra Thomson <datfamily25@hotmail.com>
Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada
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