We rarely ask, but he has a name. We would never know, but he has a story. We can’t miss him, slightly hunched, the proud elderly gentlemen with the decorated hat and vest. He usually stands outside of Giant Eagle passing out those little red flowers in exchange for a donation. Faithfully, he stands post. He is a Veteran of War.
As a “thank you” for the small amount of change I put in his bucket, he eagerly gives me that little red flower he calls a ‘Buddy Poppy.’ Until recently, I never contemplated all that the little flower represented. I learned that these little trinkets of thanks are normally assembled by disabled veterans. They construct and pass out these Poppies to raise money for hospital costs and other needs. However, there was something about these ‘Poppies’ that touched my heart even more…
“In the World War I battlefields of Belgium, poppies grew wild amid the ravaged landscape. How could such a pretty little flower grow wild while surrounded by death and destruction? The overturned soils of battle enabled the poppy seeds to be covered, thus allowing them to grow and to forever serve as a reminder of the bloodshed during that and future wars.”
http://www.vfw1733.org/buddy_poppy.html
I came to realize that as this ‘Poppy’ is handed to me, so is an opportunity. In that split second I can briefly connect myself with a part of the history that has given me my freedom. The one handing me this ‘Poppy’ may be one of the men who experienced the first United States draft registration during World War I. Maybe he aided in rescue efforts after Japan’s surprise assault on the U.S. air base at Pearl Harbor. Sadly, he could be one who returned home after Vietnam, reject and scored by many who would never understand his experience or sacrifice, and never even try to. These who stand outside of businesses with red flowers in hand, have a story. They are each a thread woven into the fabric that has made the comforter of freedom under which we all so easily lay.
‘Buddy Poppies’ will forever remind me that feeble hands, once strong, fought so that my hands would never have to. Freedom is never free; there is always a cost; it is called sacrifice.
As I was thinking about this, something in an email that my Aunt Jamie sent me last week, really hit home; “Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you....Jesus Christ and the American Soldier. One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.” This is very true, except that Jesus died for our freedom too. Our soul’s freedom…
Many of us never realize that as free as this society allows us to be, we are still slaves to negative thoughts, habits, addictions, and memories. We can be as free as streakers at a baseball game, but if our souls are in bondage, we never truly experiencing freedom at all. We can be held in bondage by fear, regret, shame, bitterness, doubt, anxiety, jealousy, loneliness, stress… the list goes on and on. WE ALL HAVE something that keeps us from being utterly free. Thankfully, God’s Word tells us that Jesus came to set the captives free! (Luke 4:18). We are prisoners of war, battling against ourselves and so many outside influences. Until we surrender and allow Christ to truly change our hearts, we will always be a prisoner to something. We have to choose to love (and trust) Him back and accept the freedom He gives to experience true ‘soul freedom.’
What the ‘Buddy Poppy’ is to the Veteran (a symbol of sacrifice, dedication, and liberty), the Cross is to Jesus Christ and to all of us who choose it, a symbol of love, completion, and ultimate freeing freedom.
THANK YOU & GOD BLESS YOU!
TO ALL WHO HAVE, WHO ARE, AND WHO WILL SACRIFICE,
YOU ARE REMEMBERED AND APPRECIATED.
‘POPPY’ SEED CAKE
Ingredients
• 1 Package of Yellow Cake Mix
• 1 Box of French Vanilla Instant Pudding
• 1 Egg
• 1 cup of Water
• 1/2 cup of canola oil
• 2 teaspoons almond flavoring
• 3 Tablespoons of Poppy Seeds
Baking Instructions
Preheat oven to 350. Spray a Bundt Pan with oil and lightly coat with sugar (It won’t stick to the cake). Mix all ingredients and pour into Bundt pan
Bake for 40-45 minutes
Cool for about 20 minutes then flip on dish- A nice glaze would compliment this well!
