It had been a rough day. Gunfire’s repetitive staccato had rattled his bones and jarred his nerves. But it had ended for now, and he was assigned Fire Guard while others slept. Though he was deployed in a part of the world he had always associated with heat, he could see his breath in the night air. It was downright cold!

He’d quieted himself to the point that he was better at discerning the difference between a rogue footfall and the crack of cold, but though a soldier might appear quiet or still, guard duty was never a time of rest.

Something caught his eye, and he zeroed in on it. Oh. A star. Only a star. But its brightness pulled his gaze back to the sky, and he thought of the old story – the one about wise men following a brilliant star and shepherds in the night.

Shepherds in the night. Now there was something he could understand. Men of varied ages spending time in the field. Without decent food. Smudged and dark from dirt and sun. Always slightly on edge, a result of their responsibility to protect. To fight when necessary. To be invisible, unremembered, and essential. They guarded sheep. He guarded freedom.

On a night not unlike this one and in a place relatively near to the station he guarded, those shepherds watched; watched the sheep and the undiscernible darkness. Their eyes, like his, might have blurred from tiredness. Some of their comrades might have been collegial – others, not so much. But, unlike him, their night had exploded in light and sound and magnificence with the announcement of the ages. Glory! To God! In the highest! A baby was born who would first save the world for all history, then rule for all eternity. History! Eternity!

The One who was announced did battle with the forces of evil. Yes, he knew something about that. And He loved. Yes, he knew love. Wished he knew it better. And He finished what He started. Yes, it was part of the Soldier’s Creed.

The soldier felt suddenly small in the grand scheme of things. He stretched and gazed as far as his eyesight would allow. He wouldn’t see magnificence tonight. He would only see the stars over the hills. His view was magnificent, was it not? It would have to be enough on this Christmas night. While those he loved and those who hated him and those who didn’t give him a thought celebrated with feasts and presents and songs and candlelight, the stars would have to be enough.

“Merry Christmas”, he whispered.

And then, then he saw . . . something. Were his eyes playing tricks? No, no, he was as sure as anything he’d seen it; if only for an instant. Angels! Not a multitude. And not glowing and beautiful like the pictures he’d seen in books when he was a child. But fierce. Profoundly scary and somehow comforting. No one would believe this. Not his buddies. Not his friends and family back home. But when you witness the unseen, you never forget it. He knew what he saw.

And his heart beat fast with awe as he blinked back grateful tears on the quiet Christmas night.

Images: Unsplash, Pexels.com