S1E1 - Where's the Peace?

Friends, if it be possible, as much as lies in you, live peaceably with all. (Romans 12:18) When I was a child, I grabbed every history book I could reach off the library shelves. I was especially drawn towards those richly illustrated books of men in armor, with plumes on their helmets, and their brightly flashing swords and spears. My mother, a woman of care, thought that this was not the education I needed. So she took me up the road to Wilmer and Velma Heisey.

Wilmer, a Brethren in Christ minister, was a missionary, historian, and honorary rear admiral in the navy of New Mexico. He was also a conscientious objector during World War II, spending the war in the dairy farms of Maine for his 1-W service, and a good family friend. In short, Wilmer was the perfect person to teach young Joel the ways of peace. Or so Mother thought.

She arranged for my brother and I to have a week of history lessons with Wilmer to talk about war and peace. Now, although Wilmer opposed war, and spent much of it working on farms, he followed its conduct closely. He carefully read newspaper accounts and listened to radio broadcasts updating the American public on the course of World War II. To mother’s chagrin, this was most of the content of those discussions. By the third day, it was too much for her and she broke in exclaiming, “Where’s the peace, Wilmer? I want you to tell them about the peace!”

This is a story about where peace is.

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