Remembering Our Military and their Families, cont.

Continued (click here to read previous article)

There are many ways to help families whose husbands or wives are away from home serving our country. Maria Rooks, whose husband, Captain Jason Rooks is deployed in Crete, Greece with the Air Force, commented how her church small group had become like a family to them, They have each prayed for us, sent encouraging cards, or given us gift cards to pamper us. Each Tuesday and Thursday they bring us yummy meals.

Other ways to help families of service men and women are inviting them to spend a holiday with your family. We have been invited to celebrate Easter and Mother’s Day with friends, she said. Men from her church have also stepped in for her husband by taking her sons fishing, bow hunting and four-wheeling.

Maria also suggested helping out military wives with basic home and lawn care. I know the men in my church small group will come out and take care of the lawn and anything else that may come up, she said.

Babysitting for a military family is also a big help. Several people have helped us by giving the boys rides home from youth or other church activities, she said. Alan Michael who has special needs has been so blessed by the kindness of some special youth kids who have babysat, and who came out to support him during Special Olympics and Walking for Autism, she added.

Texting them an encouraging Bible verse, sending a card, inviting the family for dinner or a movie are all great ways to lift the spirits of a military family. Maria added her girlfriends are especially needed to be a shoulder for her to lean on. There will be days when I need a hug, someone to listen, a shoulder to cry on, someone I can trust with my fears, and laugh with, she said.

The Rooks church has also made sure Jason is not forgotten by mailing him and his fellow soldiers snacks, encouraging him by email, and even making sure he could skype in on a recent men’s conference the church hosted, according to Maria.

(Dana serves the Keepers website as a contributing writer. Her hobbies are reading, scrapbooking and taking long nature walks with her husband and three children.