The Innkeeper's Third Favorite Christmas Story ........12/19/12

    How is everyone doing during this Christmas Season?

It's easy allowing the frenzy of Christmas shopping to distract us from the true meaning of this season: celebra-ting the birth of Christ.  I'm bumping up the following post, written last year in December.

          May the rest of this Christmas season provide you with the serenity and tranquility you seek. These qualities are ours when we abide in His presence, despite the stress involved while Christmas shopping and the frenzy it can produce.

           This is my re-telling of events, based on research and an account given by Fritz Vincken, the young twelve year old son mentioned in the story.  For more about his biography, read here.  Here's the post:

            In December 1944, the Battle of the Bulge was fought in sub-freezing weather.  The American and British troops were defeating a German force twice their number. This engagement lasted from December 16th until January 25th, 1945.  A cook for the Nazi Army left his wife and young son in a shack in the Ardennes Forest near the German-Belgium border, seemingly distant from danger.

           The poor weather---snow, bitter cold and impenetrable fog----grounded Allied aircraft and greatly aided the German advance.  That Christmas Eve, soldiers on both sides became lost.  Many looked for a place to bed down until morning, when they would resume their search for their unit. 

           The following story happened sixty-seven years ago........

          Three American soldiers stumbled upon an occupied shack.  Light emanated from the cottage, smoke pouring from the chimney.  It offered a chance to warm their frost-bit, combat-weary bodies. Upon its door, they knocked. 

          A mother, Elisabeth and her young son, Fritz, responded.  Using sign language, the soldiers asked to enter.  The woman was preparing a meal, using a scrawny chicken.  She beckoned the men in, offering her simple Christmas meal.

         One soldier was wounded, shot during a fire-fight earlier that day. The woman, using rags, stopped his bleeding.  He laid upon the living room couch. The language barrier was broken when the men learned Elisabeth spoke French, a language that one of the G.I.s from Louisiana knew. 

         The Americans unloaded their forty-five to sixty pound packs.  This evening provided a rare chance to stretch-out.  Spending the night in something bigger and warmer than a foxhole was a welcomed treat, especially in this weather.  The heat from the hearth, was an appreciated and unexpected early Christmas gift.  Little did these men know that soon, the room would experience warmth of another kind.

        More than an hour passed when a crisp rap upon the weather-worn door startled the little family and American visitors. The men grabbed their weapons while the woman answered the door.  Four German soldiers were lost.  "Was shelter available?" they asked the lady.  "Yes, come in for Christmas dinner, but I have other guests," she answered. 

        One German soldier remarked, "Americana?" She said, "Yes. This is Christmas. There'll be no killing tonight, not in my home."  She ordered the Germans to leave their weapons outside, before entering.  Those from the United States were instructed to do the same.

       The combatants stood together, men who earlier that day, sought to kill one another. The little boy, Fritz, heard his heart banging loudly.  He pulled on his winter jacket.  He didn't want everyone else hearing the emotional percussion, too. 

        For what seemed eternity---ten minutes---the room strained under the uncomfortable silence.  The men warily eyed each other.  Eventually, American cigarettes were offered to the Europeans.  The Germans welcomed them, provisions were scarce.  A German soldier with medical training inspected the wounded American.  Finding usable items within the home, he tended to the injured G.I. 

        Preparations for the Christmas dinner were completed.  The food was meager-----what was meant for the woman and her son was stretched to serve seven last-minute guests.  A bag of stored potatoes provided a hearty soup.  Before eating, the woman of the cabin spoke. 

        This woman said war was wrong. Elisabeth recounted the Christmas Story, speaking of the hope it offered.  The host spoke in German to the European visitors and in French to the Americans.

        The soldiers, including the tough German sergeant, were moved.  The eyes of few of these battle-hardened men swam, as they recalled of stories told to them during Christmas, when they were little, in their childhood homes.  

        While gnawing at the stringy chicken, the uneasiness the men had towards each other transformed into warmth. 

        After the meal, the Nazi soldiers sang Silent Night, a song of German origin.  Afterwards, two of them sang  the verses in English, along with the Americans.

        Fed and satisfied with their first home-cooked meal in months, the men slept in the cramped quarters of the tiny alpine cottage.  In the morning, a stretcher for the wounded American was crafted by the Germans. A compass and directions  were given to the Americans. The German soldiers took the lady and her son back to their lines, reuniting them with her husband.

        For one night, during a horrific battle, God's peace dwelt within nine who spent the night in the tiny cabin.  Even in the worst possible circumstances, war, God dwelt among them. 

        Two thousand years ago, a young pregnant woman and her husband were not admitted to a crowded inn, in Bethlehem. There was no room for the Christ child.  Today, this slight can be corrected. He can be welcomed into the inn of our hearts. Invite Him, if you haven't. You'll discover the greatest Christmas gift ever----eternal life.

        The Peace in Bethlehem came to nine persons in a middle of the Battle of the Bulge in war-torn Europe. Experiencing God's love and peace is just as available today, to hearts torn with despair or pain.

         I ask God to show me, how I can demonstrate character like the mother in this story.  Being an instrument of His peace is my desire.  The world desperately needs to know hope, freedom from fear, gratitude and peace.

         May you have a Merry Christmas,