Nothing touches the heart like a gift from a child, especially when kids are sending cards and letters overseas to a military unit. I know, because I once heard about an instance first-hand.
It all started when I got a call one morning from our local elementary school asking if our son was deployed at the time. He wasn’t, but I had several friends who had deployed children. Because I knew the school and had permission, I passed their contact information along. I had no idea what God had set into motion until about six months later.
The school contacted one of my friends and told her the kindergarten classes wanted to send Valentine’s Day cards. She was thrilled to give the teacher her son’s deployment address.
Her son’s unit was deployed in a forward base, meaning they didn’t have as many comforts as those stationed in bigger bases. They were also rarely out of their armor and helmets because of the danger in that location. That particular week had been brutal. They’d run into two hand-made bombs, and several of them had been wounded and transferred out.
Into that scenario arrived a battered box from home.
The box had been bashed in on one side, and although my friend’s son tried to open it carefully, it almost disintegrated in his hands. But in the place of the rubble he expected to find, a cascade of brightly colored envelopes, interspersed with candy, came pouring out.
His buddies gathered around because a box from home meant everyone got to share. They took turns opening the cards—one at a time—and read them out loud. They passed around the candy, and everyone found at least one of their favorites.
Instead of an evening of anxiety and fear, they were transported home by the heartfelt Valentine’s Day greetings.
I encourage you to take time to write a card, at any time, to someone far from home. It could be a deployed service person, or a veteran at a local care facility. You never know how God may use your outreach to remind someone they aren’t forgotten.
If you don’t know a place to send your letter, here is the link for Solder’s Angels. They’ll be happy to make sure your card gets to someone in need.
