Wednesday Five | Vol. 14

 

A Quote 

I think this quote section is going to be where I dump my World War 1 thoughts on you for the next few Wednesday Five posts. I’m reading so many interesting books about WW1 right now.

What has struck me most in learning about WW1 is how much most of the leaders of the countries involved did not want war. There were a couple people in Austria-Hungary who wanted retribution on Serbia, but all the allies involved seemed to try their hardest not to let a war start. It was like a very tragic “comedy of errors“, riddled with miscommunication and mistrust. 

This part of the book A World Undone by G. J. Meyer, really got to me. A double ultimatum was issued by Germany to Russia and France, and the German ambassador went to meet with Sazonov, Russia’s Foreign Minister. The last ditch effort at avoiding a war fell apart. 

“In his hands he had two messages, both of them declarations of war. One was for use if Russia gave no answer to the ultimatum, the other a reply to a negative answer. In his distress and confusion he pressed both on Sazanov and burst into tears.

 Or so Sazanov wrote years later in his memoirs. Pourtales’s recollection was that Sazonov wept first.  Whatever the sequence, apparently both men cried. They embraced, then pulled apart and began to exchange accusations.

 ‘This was a criminal act of yours,’ said Sazonov. ‘The curses of the nations will be upon you.’ 

‘We were defending our honor.’

‘Your honor was not involved.’

Finally, they parted forever, Sazonov helping the distraught Pourtales to the door.”

When I was reading this, it struck me how the Fall and sin’s curse didn’t just affect mankind, and our relationship to God, and creation, and interpersonal relationships - it affects relationships between nations too. Peace is so tenuous, and war has been a part of the story of humanity ever since Adam fell. 

As I write this, I’m also thinking about someday, when every knee shall bow before Christ, and He will reign for a thousand years and then create a new Heaven and Earth where sin and death are no more. Then we will have peace forever, and people from every tribe, tongue, and nation, even people who fought and killed each other in wars like WW1, will wipe their tears and sing praise to the Lord together. That will be a glorious thing to see.

A Book

Aside from my collection of WW1 nonfiction, I’m reading a book on prayer by John MacArthur called Alone With God (the Kindle version is only $2!). Prayer is always something that I wish I was better at, and I’m getting a lot of good thoughts out of this one. What specifically stuck out to me was how MacArthur says the focus of prayer needs to be God, and too often we act like we’re talking to God when really we’re just focusing on ourselves. That is so true.

A Bit Of Nature

Before it snowed two weeks ago...yes, it snowed! Not a little bit either, it snowed a few inches. But before it snowed I was worried it would kill all the leaves and I wouldn’t be able to get any good fall pictures of the kids. So I took them outside by our long, pretty mountain grass, and we had a little impromptu fall photo shoot. The pictures turned out really cute (I'll put more on Instagram). 

I love long grass like this. You know, we learned that those little bunches at the end of a piece of grass are actually technically a flower.

A Recommendation

I've mentioned these about a million times, but I wanted to recommend (again) the Rush Revere: Time Travel Adventures With Exceptional Americans book series. We like them on audio.  My kids were SO EXCITED when I told them I got the next book, Rush Revere And The Presidency, at the library.  Wyatt asked if he could listen to it today, and he and Gwen have their chairs pulled up to the CD player so they can listen to the story.  They think Liberty (the time-traveling horse) is hilarious, and I love the strong American values and history in the stories.  This one that we're listening to is also great if you are trying to teach your kids about the election.  I'm planning on adding it to my election resources blog post.

A Moment Of Happiness

It's hard for me to isolate just one moment right now, because I've been feeling generally happy and content for the last several weeks.  That's odd for 2020, isn't it?  I just have this peace that no matter what happens, the Lord is sovereign and it's all going to be okay.  I love my country and am so proud to be an American, and it kills me to see the turmoil. I also believe strongly in caring about the wellbeing of the nation, continuing to fight for our freedoms, and being an active citizen as a Christian.  But this world was never meant to be my home.  

Maybe it took a year like 2020 to make that extra clear.  

We're just passing through, and if you believe in Christ's sacrifice to save you from your sin - well, the place we're going is promised to be so much better.  I've always wanted to live my life with eternity in mind, there was always a part of me that knew how important that was - that's part of why I named my blog Through Clouded Glass all those years ago (based on 1 Corinthians 13:  ).  When you keep your eyes on Jesus and live with eternity in mind, the world can't touch you the same way. That's where I'm trying to keep focus, and nothing else in the world is as calming as resting in Him.  

I wish that for all of you this Wednesday.