Saluting 'The Man in the Arena'
OPINION: As I was putting the final touches on my column for last month, the hottest ‘breaking news’ was the Scott Robertson story from New Zealand Rugby.
I had thought several times over the past few weeks, crikey, it’s almost Christmas for 2025! And now, ready or not, it’s right here knocking on our door.
It then occurred to me, that means we have very nearly chewed through a quarter of this ‘new’ century. That’s right. Where has it all gone?
Like many of you will too, I well remember some of the fear stuff that was being peddled back then, with the millennium change just up ahead of us.
Many folks got a little freaked, others even talked about it being the end of the world. Few dared to take a flight December 31 or January 1. But surprise, surprise, we are still here!
A truly amazing Christmas story emerged from the absolute horrors of WW1. I have heard the word “hellish” used in an attempt to describe what those soldiers were living through every day. Trenches were waterlogged, rotting corpses lay between enemy lines.
Then late Christmas Eve 1914, British troops heard some of the opposing German troops singing Christmas carols from their trenches. That prompted the Brits to sing their own. The languages may have been different, but the tunes were the same. It was obvious what was unfolding. Messages were shouted between the trenches, at times even less than 50 yards apart!
Read More:
Come Christmas morning a few men from both sides walked the horrific yards into what was known as “no-man’s land”. Not a shot was fired!
Many others joined them that epic Christmas morning. I read that many thousands actually broke ranks, to share the true spirit of Christmas together.
Photos were taken, even simple gifts got exchanged. Impromptu soccer games took place too, as a football got kicked around.
They became humans for a few short hours together, even helping each other to bury their dead. Yep, on both sides soldiers displayed a true courage rarely seen, right in the midst of some of the ugliest stuff imaginable.
When the angels visited the shepherds watching over their flocks that memorable night that we remember over this season, they announced heaven’s “goodwill” toward the human family. My take on the above story is that those soldiers that Christmas morning,1914, got a little taste of that “goodwill”.
Now, for some, Christmas will be very different for you this year. Why, you may wonder? Because you lost someone special to you in 2025. This will be your first Christmas without that someone special. Perhaps a parent, a spouse, a grandparent, a child, or a close friend is no longer with you.
Yes, it will be very different for you. And that’s okay. There is no need to try and hide your loss. It’s real, and we all get to face it from time to time.
I hope you have other family or friends you can connect with. Make a phone call or email someone you know will understand. Please realise you are not alone. I am thinking about you as I type, and I pray for you too, that you will get to taste a little of that “goodwill” for yourself this Christmas.
Well, that’s it from me for 2025. Thanks to those of you who have taken the time to email me or contact me this past year. I appreciated it.
Till next year, have a blest Christmas and holiday season. All the best for ’26, and God bless.
