Poppy Priority

 This was a story I posted in 2020.

I wrote it not to make waves or stir up trouble, but I think it was something that needed to be addressed, even from a non-confrontational person like me! I am sharing this now because I believe that the message needs to linger and be pondered. 

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Originally posted in November 2020 (Edited):

It happens to me every November. Tears and emotions brim easily.

Having two veteran parents made Remembrance Day such an important part of my life over the years. And now that they are both gone, their absence always adds to my brittle emotions when November comes knocking.

Two nights ago, a news report said a popular food chain told its employees they weren't allowed to wear a poppy.

"An employee of [this food chain] says she was told by a supervisor that wearing the poppy would be seen as 'supporting a cause."

As soon as I heard that, my stomach fell. I couldn't believe my ears.

Supporting a cause? The tears returned.

A cause? Really? What about the brave men and women who gave their freedom, their mental health, their right arm, their life—so that people, some of whom obviously have no clue, can live in freedom, without fear of persecution.

• For the total 40 million military and civilian casualties in World War I.
• For those who gave it all in World War II, worldwide. Read this and allow it to sink in:

                Battle Deaths: 15,000,000

                Battle Wounded: 25,000,000

                Civilian Deaths: 45,000,000  (National WWII Museum)

• For those whose families were riddled with pain and a lifetime of suffering because of battle scars that presented themselves in many ways.

Would these not be CAUSE enough, alone, to allow employees to show respect and gratitude by pinning a mere red poppy to one's smart uniform?

We won't even get into what we have gained because of the sacrifice of so many. And then don't get me started on veterans like my Mum and Dad who dealt with a lot of guilt post-war. Why did they make it, while their friends and allies were blown to smithereens?

Shell shock, they used to call it. 

PTSD, the common term now.

I watched my Dad deal with that in his final years. A 90-something proud British Royal Marine reduced to panic in the middle of the night as he ducked bombs and fought the rat-infested corners of the trenches [in his bedroom].

It's the least we can do this November.

A few coins in a white collection box.

A poppy on the lapel. Announce your gratitude. Respect those who served. Honour those who sacrificed.

Remember.

Yes, even as Christians, Believers, Religious, Evangelicals. Whatever category you like. We have the freedom to say what we say because of those like my parents who dared to don a uniform.

A soapbox this morning? Perhaps. But my heart hurts for those who had to live through or die because of war. There is nothing glamorous about brutality. But there is something wonderfully uniting about gratitude and respect.

Please consider wearing your Poppy this week
leading up to Remembrance Day.
Love unites us all. Gratitude heals our

wounds. It is a simple action that speaks volumes.

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. (Ecclesiastes 3:8 ESV)

Lest we forget…