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What you can pray for parents of military personnel?
Contributed by Kathy Guzzo, a Marine mom
1. Strong faith to entrust their son or daughter into God's hands no matter the outcome. (Having no control of a child’s well being is extremely tough.)
2. That the fear regarding their child’s situation is replaced daily with God’s peace. (When communication is minimal anxiety is at it’s highest.)
3. They are able to physically rest and restore themselves in order to function on an everyday basis. (Insomnia is extremely common for these parents.)
4. They are able to accept their child’s decision to enlist. (When an enlistment is not the parents’ first choice or if it was a complete surprise, anger can surface.)
5. They find joy in everyday in the midst of the unknowns. (Severe depression is common with Blue Star Moms.)
6. For them to find creative ways to support their loved one, emotionally, and spiritually, from a distance.
7. That they would remain steadfast and not "loose heart", but continue in prayer causing them to grow stronger in the Lord.
8. That family and close friends understand or at least accept and not criticize the roller coaster of emotions. (Without realizing it, family has the highest ability to hurt and isolate Blue Star Parents.)
9. For wisdom to know how to encourage their son or daughter throughout each stage of their enlistment. Knowing if they are to say something, what to say, when to say it and how to say it. (Some parents say too much too soon, others don’t say anything because they are unsure how their child will react.)
10. They be able to adapt to and accept the changes in themselves as well as their child that have occurred during their child’s enlistment. (Changes may be positive, like after boot camp; or negative, like after a deployment. Either way life will never be the same for any of them. The entire family has a “new normal” to adjust to.)
11. That they be led to those that will support and encourage them possibly by joining or starting a support group for other military families. (It’s extremely lonely for Blue Star Parents if they don’t have others in similar situations to share their hearts and the everyday uncertainties.)
Also, something I do for those I’m praying for is ask God to lead me to a passage of Scripture that I can insert their name into and make it a personal prayer for them.
Example:
I Peter 5:7 “Lord I pray that Blue Star Parent, is able to cast all their cares on you, and that Blue Star Parent would be reminded that you care for them.
Psalm 28:7 “Lord I pray that you be Blue Star Parent’s strength and shield; that Blue Star Parent will trust in you and you will help Blue Star Parent. That Blue Star Parent’s heart will leap for joy, and sing songs of praise to you.”