“Goodbyes”
This is my favorite time of the day. The children are still asleep. The house is quiet, and I have a fresh cup of coffee next to me. Normally, my husband and I would be doing our “prayer time” right now. We try to make a point of having a few minutes every day to pray through the daily Mass readings and apply them to our crazy lives. It always seems that God knows exactly what we need to hear, especially on those days when life is overwhelming.
Today is a little different. I am reflecting on the Christmas season and how blessed we have been as a family. My children are healthy (for the most part…my 6-month-old has a little stomach bug). My husband, who is in Iraq, is safe…I spoke to him about an hour ago. And we have a warm roof over our head here in the Intereior of Alaska.
My father, who lives in New England, came to visit us and we had a wonderful Christmas. The kids got to show off their hockey skills to “Grampy,” we attended several school parties and Christmas concerts, and the girls played their violins at Christmas Eve Mass. Sadly, we had to let him go home last night. The goodbye was hard, as it is always is.
Military life is full goodbyes. We cry tears as we wave goodbye to ships, airplanes, and buses taking our soldiers to unknown lands and often unsafe conditions. We hug newly-made friends “goodbye” as they prepare to follow moving vans to the next duty station. We embrace family members as we say goodbye after making much-needed trips home. And once in a great while, we must say that final goodbye to a fallen soldier, someone who has sacrificed the most precious of possessions, his or her life.
As Christians, and especially as Catholics, we know that these goodbyes are not forever, but they can seem that way from time to time. It is then that our faith comes into play, and we must reach back into the stores of strength that God has given us in order to face the aching loneliness that accompanies the “goodbye.” I believe that God equips us through trials to handle future, more difficult situations. And with my life experience, I have found that I can handle these trials when I rely on God’s strength and grace. I just have to remind myself of this when I start to despair!
Amid the emotional turmoil that comes with the “goodbyes,” there are wonderful parts of military life. There are the “hellos.” We have faith that we will see our loved ones again. We believe that our soldiers will return to us. And we trust that we will keep in touch with those friends who have moved away. And even if none of these things happens, if God calls these people home before we have the chance to see them again, we know that we can look forward to the biggest and best “Hello” of all when we see them again in heaven. Without faith, I think military life would be nearly unbearable. But with faith that God will fulfill His promises, we can overcome the sadness that goes along with saying goodbye and we can look forward to brighter and better days.
Goodbye for now, dear readers, but, God-willing, I will return with another column next week! Until then, please pray for the safety of travelers (such as my father) and as always, for our soldiers and their families. Blessings! Sadie
If you would like to help deployed military members and their families, there are a number of resources available. The following excerpt is from http://www.military.com/Resources/ResourceFileView?file=Holiday_Help.htm
What can you do to show support for servicemembers, especially those serving overseas? Below are Websites for several organizations that are sponsoring programs for members of the Armed Forces overseas. Servicemembers do value and appreciate any expressions of support you can send them.
Donate a calling card to help keep servicemembers in touch with their families at Operation Uplink at http://www.operationuplink.org/
Send a greeting via e-mail through Operation Dear Abby at http://anyservicemember.navy.mil/ or http://www.OperationDearAbby.net
Sign a virtual thank you card at the Defend America Web site at http://www.defendamerica.mil/nmam.html
Send messages to soldiers through the new forum "Messages for Soldiers" at http://www.mfsusa.org/main.html
Make a donation to one of the military relief societies:
Army Emergency Relief at http://www.aerhq.org/
Navy/Marine Relief Society at http://www.nmcrs.org/
Air Force Aid Society at http://www.afas.org/
Coast Guard Mutual Assistance at http://www.cgmahq.org/
Donate to "Operation USO Care Package" at http://www.usometrodc.org/care.html
Support the American Red Cross Armed Forces Emergency Services at http://www.redcross.org/services/afes/
Donate Blood to the Armed Services Blood Program; for more information, visit http://www.tricare.osd.mil/asbpo/
Volunteer at a VA Hospital to honor veterans who bore the lamp of freedom in past conflicts. Find the VA health facility nearest you.
Support families whose loved ones are being treated at military and VA hospitals through a donation to the Fisher House at http://www.fisherhouse.org.
Reach out to military families in your community, especially those with a loved one overseas.
Please do not flood the military mail system with letters, cards, and gifts. Due to security concerns and transportation constraints, the Department of Defense cannot accept items to be mailed to "Any Servicemember." Some people have tried to avoid this prohibition by sending large numbers of packages to an individual servicemember's address, which however well intentioned, clogs the mail and causes unneccessary delays.
The support and generosity of the American people has touched the lives of many servicemembers, over 300,000 of whom are deployed overseas.
Not Just Strong...Army Mom Strong 
Sadie McCurry is a Catholic military wife and mother of four. She and her husband have been married for 13 years and have twin 10-year-old girls, a 7-year-old boy and a 4-month-old boy. They are currently stationed at Ft. Wainwright, Alaska, near Fairbanks. Sadie has her bachelor’s degree in Health Education with a Certificate in Nutrition. 
