Published: November 06, 2009 05:55 pm         

THE JOY LADY: ‘Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience'

In 1918, at the moment of the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, World War I began its slow descent to culmination. The fighting didn’t officially end till June 28, 1919, but Nov. 11 was so important in the cessation of fighting between the Allies and Germany, that the day became a holiday. Armistice Day, as it was known then, was celebrated in the United States and became an official holiday in 1926. In 1938, it became a national holiday, complete with official recognition and celebrations. In 1954, the moniker Armistice Day was replaced by Veterans Day to honor all U.S. veterans.

Veterans Day fell victim to the legislations that moved our celebrations of national holidays from their true dates of occurrence till Mondays. I guess they thought three-day weekends and the celebrations surrounding the time off were more important than the commemoration and honor that occurred on the actual anniversary date of the important occasion. It started with Veterans Day. In 1968, those brilliant lawmakers of ours declared our honor of veterans would take place, not on Nov. 11, the true anniversary of the Armistice, but on the fourth Monday in October. The memorialization of the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of the eleventh month was thrown right out the window.

Then, in 1971, things really got confusing. Forget about Lincoln’s Birthday on Feb. 11 and Washington’s Birthday on Feb. 22. Now, we celebrate both birthdays on one day, you guessed it, a Monday — the third one in February. No more putting flags on graves on May 30, the day set aside by General Logan and the widows of the Confederacy. Now Memorial Day is celebrated on, you guessed it, a Monday — the last one in May. As for Columbus, we no longer honor him on the day of his birth, Oct. 11. That’s right, you guessed it again, another Monday — the second in October.

I guess all this Monday holiday was good for giving us a long weekend, but it seems that we Americans will fiddle around with the dates for such luminaries as Washington, Lincoln, Logan, Confederate Widows and Christopher Columbus. But don’t mess with our veterans. We made such a stink about the Veterans Day Monday that in 1978, Congress voted to return the observance of Veteran’s Day to Nov. 11. That’s why, on Wednesday of next week, we’ll see parades and flags and veterans waving flags while parading around in the too-tight uniforms of their youth. It’s Veterans Day, and all veterans of our armed forces will — and should be — honored for their service to our country.

But a veteran is not only one who has served in a branch of the military or has fought in a war. A veteran also can be one who has gained experience in a certain field through long service or practice. Those veterans also are worthy of our honor.

The janitor of your church who has cleaned up after you for years with little pay and probably little or no recognition. The cook at the cafeteria who stands all day on sore feet and aching legs in order to provide you with hot food for lunch. The cleaning service worker who cleans your work space while you are sleeping, picking up after you and cleaning up the messes you made during the day. The customer service representative who takes your call after listening to an overly-long tirade from an angry and abusive caller. The cashier who stands in one place performing endless repetitive movements for countless customers without receiving a single smile or word of encouragement. These people are veterans at their jobs, veterans of being criticized and called less than complimentary names. They are the veterans of receiving the angst of our bad moods and impolite natures. They don’t deserve to be treated the way we treat them.

Colossians 3:12 puts it like this: “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”

What that means, dear readers is that we should not be the ones who make those who serve us feel like they have gone into a battle when they do so. We should not make those who make our lives easier feel like their time with us has been as hazardous as a war zone. We should make sure our encounters with others don’t make them feel as if they are standing in the line of fire.

Let us live by the words to a simple song: “They will know that we are Christians by our love, by our love. They will know that we are Christians by our love.”

Verna Davis may be reached at vrdspeaks@yahoo.com.