In 1914, Kaiser Wilhelm II was in power in Germany. He was
hugely in favor of a strong military and had built up the nation’s arms over
several years. Wilhelm, however, turned out to be Germany’s last Kaiser.
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| Archduke Franz Ferdinand |
In June of 1914, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary
was assassinated by a Serbian terrorist group. Kaiser Wilhelm encouraged Austria-Hungary to take revenge on Serbia for the
assassination. The situation began to spin out of control and with multiple
nations taking sides, World War I followed.
Some actually point to Kaiser Wilhelm’s urging Austria-Hungary
for revenge as one of the main catalysts for the onset of World War I. However,
the Kaiser almost didn’t get the chance to influence anything. He was fortunate
enough to dodge a bullet many years before.
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| Kaiser Wilhelm II |
Not long after the Kaiser was crowned, he attended a show in
which there was trick shooting exhibition. A young lady named Phobe was
planning to perform a few trick shots with her gun. The Kaiser emerged from the
crowd and challenged her to shoot the ashes off his cigarette while he was
smoking it. The young lady agreed, but was a bit nervous because of the
Kaiser’s lofty position.
She paced off the distance and turned to aim. She said later
that as she began to aim, she began to regret the whiskey she had consumed the
night before. Since she was famous herself, pride took over and she decided to
shoot.
The Kaiser lit his cigarette, placed it in his mouth and
waited. Phoebe raised her gun and took aim. She only hesitated a second and
then fired. The sound of the rifle rang out and to the delight and roar of the
crowd, the ashes of the cigarette flew off. She had done it! Of course, she had
done it! She was Phoebe Ann Moses! Perhaps you know her better by her stage
name, Annie Oakley! The show was Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show and Kaiser
Wilhelm II dodged a bullet that day.
After World War I broke out, Annie never forgot that day.
She wrote, “If I shot the Kaiser, I might have saved the lives of several
million soldiers.” In fact, Annie’s husband, Frank, wrote to the Kaiser and
told him that his wife wanted the opportunity to take a second shot at him. The
Kaiser never replied.  |
| Annie Oakley |
This was a regret in Annie’s life. However, the fact of the
matter is, we cannot know the future. If we knew what was going to happen years
from now we might avoid pain, but we might miss other blessings that God has in
our path.
We are not supposed to look back with regret on the things
we have done wrong or mourn over missed opportunities. We are called to do the
best we can as Christians today and look to the future with Christ as our
guide. We don’t know what the future holds, but we follow the One who does!
Regret, grief, remorse, and pain of the past will always rob
you of your joy in Christ. We must ask forgiveness for past sins and give them
to God, who washes them away, never to be remembered again. God wants to wipe
the slate clean and give you a new start. Give Him your past, present and
future!
This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds. Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more. (Hebrews 10:16-17)
