What goes on in the family’s life that has a son or daughter deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan? Let’s start with morning time. Everyone gets up, and Mom is walking around the house very slowly, not too talkative. The look on her face is a strained expression, between total sadness and trying to force somewhat of a smile, but she isn’t doing so well. The first thing she does is go straight to the computer to see if her soldier is on Facebook. With anticipated excitement she strains to see if he is on, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She adjusts the screen to somehow magically see him on, but this time she sees a blank page. Her heart drops as she walks away from the screen.

Dad is making coffee, and he too looks at the screen; no, he is not on. Dad is tough you know, no emotion, just walks on, and prepares to take a shower. All the while his heart is breaking, all the time saying, “Please God let us hear from our boy.”

Mom also has access to her son’s FRG site (Family Readiness Group), where she can get updates on what her son could possibly be doing. Mom already knows that security on these sites is very strict, so any information that could possibly be handed down is very limited.

As we move on, Mom is at work. Before she got there she drove right by the office. Her mind isn’t exactly on what she is doing. As Mom’s day is over, she has a renewed energy surge. What has caused this change in attitude? That’s right, she can now check her phone for calls, and get home to check her Facebook. She is now going 55 in a 35 mph speed zone. In her mind she is thinking, “I have to get home and see if he is on Facebook. I just can’t wait to hear from him.”

Mom pulls into the driveway, jumps out of the car, and leaves the engine running. As Mom opens the door and hurries to the computer, dropping her purse on the way, she brings up Facebook and scans the screen hurriedly, but no, he is still not on. By the way, Mom has had a headache and upset stomach all day long. Mom now starts to search for other parents of soldiers that are deployed with her son. Her face comes alive as one of the soldier’s Mom, sends her a message. The first thing she says is, “Have you heard from our boys today? It has been 8 days since I heard from my son, what is going on?”

Well, the day has slowly gone by, and it’s time for bed. Mom turns out all of the lights, locks the doors, and washes the makeup from her face. Mom and Dad now read Psalms 91, with great emphasis put on verse 4. “He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.”

Mom finally drops off to sleep. Then about 3 a.m. the phone rings. The caller at first is silent. Mom says, “Hello, hello, who is this?” Finally a strained voice in the phone says, “Hey Mom, it’s me.” Oh Happy Day!

This scene is played out to literally thousands of military families everyday. We received word that another soldier was killed in action just last week. It is not a happy day for that family. Please pray for our troops.

We would like to dedicate this article to all of the families that have loved ones currently deployed.

Roger Sherrill lives in Ringgold. He can be reached by email at tandemjumper@catt.com or by phone at 706-937-3918. You can also become a fan of Operation Coffee Cup on Facebook.