This devotional was written by Vicky Daub.  Vicky leads Bethany’s Operation One Nation team.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” – Matthew 5:4

As the Lead of Operation One Nation, Bethany’s team supporting the military, I received the email (names have been deleted) below Wednesday, April 14. The 244th is an Army Reserve Unit (just west of Denver International Airport) that Bethany supports on a regular basis through Operation Breadbasket and other efforts.

Dear Vicky,

I am sad to inform you that two former Soldiers passed away last week.  One was 39 years old and left a wife and two small boys (suicide).   Another, I believe who was also in in his 30s, died due to a heart attack.  Both served with my husband in Iraq.  I will be contacting the wife of the first Soldier to see if there is anything the Family Readiness Group can do to help.  Family and friends of this family have set up a Go-Fund-Me site.  I know that the first Soldier suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.  It seems that the stress of today’s environment is affecting our Soldiers significantly.

Thank you.

Coincidentally (I think not!!!) on this same Wednesday, I had a quarterly meeting with Colorado’s Joining Community Forces (JCF) team. I decided to answer this email after the JCF meeting. Toward the end of this meeting, I posted the email in the Zoom chat box. Within an hour, I had emails from several members of the JCF team, offering their immediate assistance for the grieving family.  As it turns out, the most immediate family need was grief support and counseling. Two days later, the Soldier’s wife had already received the immediate assistance that she needed from various JCF resources.  (FYI…the original Go-Fund-Me request was for $5,000; the pledged amount today is over $10,000. The online Meal Train site for the family is full through the end of April.)

What struck me in the next few days is the calls I got, thanking me for letting everyone at JCF know about this situation. This happened three different times. People were calling to thank me…??

My response in each case was to state that I felt blessed that my contact at the 244th had reached out to me in the first place, and that I was able to help in a small way.  The most profound thank you came from this contact herself. She told me that she has been involved with countless veteran suicides in her work with the 244th over many years. She also told me that she has never seen this level of support for a veteran family after a suicide. All I could think to say was it was my honor to help. She told me that the funeral service for this Soldier will be at Fort Logan after the COVID-19 crisis passes. She asked if some of us from Operation One Nation might be willing to attend this funeral (if the family agreed). I said of course.

Now, for the rest of the story…

I initially thought that this contact needed financial support for this family. I was worried about how much financial support Operation One Nation had to offer.

How often do I do this? How often do we all do this? That is, start to solve/worry about a problem before understanding what the situation is!

Also, notice how God already had things under control!!! God knew what this family needed, and through these various agencies, provided help for this family in mere hours! All I had to do was ask.

Dear Jesus, you know what we need, before we even ask it. Thank you for walking beside us, and offering help, when the situation seems impossible. Be with these grieving families, Lord. And be with us as we grieve with them.Thanks for always loving us so well. Amen.