From the article, What is Veterans Day we read, “Veterans Day is an American federal holiday celebrated each year on November eleventh. The day honors those who have served in the United States military.” This year Veterans Day fell on Sunday so many locations are celebrating today, Monday November 12th.
In our area, which is a huge military area, schools are out and all of our military people are out and about doing family things together.
Why am I writing about Veteran’s Day on blog about kids and divorce? Because many of our kids in divorced homes are from military homes. The military has a very high rate of divorce. Many of us tend to forget these children if we live in a part of the country that doesn’t have a big military population.
Do you do anything special for the military child? Do you do anything special to honor their military parent? Have you ever given any thought to the kids in the divorced military family?
It doesn’t affect your ministry?
While you might not have a military base close to your church, you might very well have a National Guard or someone who serves in the National Guard in your community. These National Guardsmen and women serve in combat zones. They are deployed just like full time men and women in the Army, Marines, Air Force and Navy.
Military marriages suffer
This means hundreds of children are suffering. Many kids suffered through the deployed parents tour of duty only to have the parent come home and leave the family. If the family lived in base housing, the parent not in the military will have to move. Many of these, particularly moms, move back home to be close to family. What if one of these kids is attending your church? What are you doing to reach out to them?
Single parents are also deployed
Contrary to what you may hear or think, single parents get deployed also. What do they do with their kids? Some may be sent to live with the dad in another state. Got any of those kids in your church?
Imagine being a little six- or seven-year-old boy whose mom gets deployed and “goes to war” as the kids say. The dad can’t take the child due to his job so the child gets pulled out of his school in the middle of the year and is sent to live with grandma in another state. Imagine the insecurity? Got any of those kids in your ministry?
Do you have scriptures you can share with the child who single parent is being deployed? How about, He is always kind and loving to me: he is my fortress, my tower of strength and safety, my deliverer. Psalm 144:2 (NIV) Or the ninety-first Psalm? Psalms ninety-one has bee the “Warriors Psalm” for thousands of years.
Stress affects so many of our military kids
Military kids live with a lot of stress and worry about their parents. They’ve heard the stories from other kids whose parent came back but were different after their deployment. They know kids whose parent lost their life serving in a war zone.
A great resource to learn more about what kids have to say is the book, “Off to War” by Deborah Ellis. Read a review of “Off To War”.
Will you be on the lookout for the military child whose parents are divorced? Will you open your heart to minister to these kids whose parents serve our country?
How will you minister to these precious little souls? Today on Veteran’s Day it is good to remember not only the vets but the thousands of kids down through the years that have personal experience with vets, war, deployment of a parent, etc.
How about giving them something special next week, such as a special American flag? How about giving them ideas to work through their stress and worry about their parents. For my grandson when my daughter was deployed, I gave him a bunch of army men. We looked up the base online where his mom was stationed and then he built his own base in his room. Every so often he’d move the men around and have wars in his room.
The three-year-old liked to see pictures of his mom all over the house. Before she left I had captured on film many daily routines, such as brushing his teeth, mom reading a bed time story, etc. After mom left, I posted these pictures all over the house of her and the little one. Perhaps you can take a picture of the child standing in front of your church and send it to the deployed single parent. The child will appreciate your attention.
Oh this Veteran’s Day remember those who have served. Those who have died serving. Those severing now and remember the children.
My daughter on her way to serve her time in Afghanistan.
Her kids and I survived and we praise the Lord and thank her and my son in-law for serving. And we thank her children for being supportive and respectful living in a military family.
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Thanks for a great article. So important for churches to look for those precious opportunities for ministry to children of parents who serve our country. Grateful for your daughter and son-in-law for their service.
Thank you Joseph.