Beauty in France
About a month ago, Gloria and I had the opportunity to go to France. It was something that I have always wanted to do, kind of a bucket list thing I guess.
Paris was beautiful. Architecture has always been an interest of mine and I wasn’t disappointed. Even Notre Dame looked amazing, especially after we saw the pictures of the devastating fire they had a few years prior. There were still many cranes working on the back of the building and artisans from all over the world were working on the damaged statues and stained glass. Their volunteer work was very impressive, and the interior structure was coming back to “life”. After looking at the beauty of the structure, I can only imagine how beautiful heaven will be. These are just simple men that built Norte Dame, imagine what goes has in store for us!
The most inspirational part of the trip was our visit to Normandy. Such a beautiful beach, cemetery and park. It was hard to believe that on June 6, 1944, over 4000 allied troops lost their lives. Most of the loss, that day, came in the first 5 hours of the invasion. Over 2500 were young Americans, including my uncle. I say young because the majority were only 18 – 20 years old. My uncle was known as the “old man” at 25! In the ensuing battle, during the next 7 days, over 73,000 allies were killed and over 7000 German soldiers.
How can this happen? Such mass murder! There is a written record indicating that even the German soldiers became physically ill while shooting the soldiers on the beach. Many died by suicide. According to our Guide, all this death and destruction was because of one brutal, horrible man by the name of Adolf Hitler. Our Guide, a Christian, stated that it was obvious that Hitler was doing the work of Satan.
It made me wonder how Satan uses people to carry out his will. That’s sin! Satan tempts us and many times we fall into his trap. We listen to his lies, whether we know it or not; he gets in our heads and we may do things we had no intention of doing. It reminds me of Romans 7:15 “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do”. Not comparable to mass murder but it illustrates how Satan can work in us.
There were many remnants of Bible verses found in the soldiers clothing. There were also some heart wrenching letters to family and friends. We saw a helmet with Isaiah 41:10 etched in a helmet. “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” And another that says it all about the camaraderie of the allies. John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
Franklin Roosevelt delivered this prayer on national radio that helped comfort and strengthen a frightened Nation:
“Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day has set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity. Lead them straight and true, give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith! They will need Thy blessings; their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph.”
Blessings!
Kent Patton, Operations Manager
