Truce

You know the story of the World War I Christmas Truce? Where the German soldiers sing “Stille Nacht” from the trenches? And then the Allies peek out of their own trenches and they all tiptoe out and then they play together? I hope you’ve seen the two beautifully-done films I’ve seen bouncing around the internet this Christmas about the Truce.

One is a British grocery chain ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWF2JBb1bvM

The other is this glorious thing: http://faithcounts.net/christmas-truce-peace-is-possible/

(You know it’s really me doing the posting when it’s the lowest-possible-tech way to share media.)

I’ve been thinking about truce-ing. Turns out that’s not a recognizable word. But it should be, so I’m not changing it. Have you ever been in a metaphorical war and found a moment that is was The Right Thing To Do to call a truce? To stop the battle for one day, or one night, and find reasons to think about something Other?

I’m not really so much a warrior, so I don’t have a great deal of experience with this kind of thing, but it comes to my mind anyway. I think about others’ battles – ones I only witness from the sidelines, out of the line of fire. It’s a matter of material collection. For stories, you know. Because in a story, isn’t everyone in a battle about/for/against/with something? And then, I work in a high school. So there’s a constant stream of battling happening around that good place. Some for reasons that are noble, and some because stupidity. Kind of like war, I guess. It all makes a perfect kind of warped sense.

Maybe if you’re in a war you’ll experience the grace of a truce this Christmas time. Maybe you’ll feel so good about it that you’ll surrender. Maybe you’ll find a common ground upon which you can choose to end the war. That thing you’re fighting about/for/against/with? Maybe it matters enough to start the battle back up after the day, or the night, or the weekend. Whatever it is, I hope you have some peace in the weeks to come. And I hope it sinks deep into you so you can look back on that peace when things start crumbling around you once again. And you can remember how it feels when “all is calm; all is bright.”