Brownwood News wanted to give thanks to our military families for their service this Christmas. They give us a great gift each year they serve, Freedom… A couple of families submitted stories we wanted to share this Christmas with you.
Military mother, Shirley Stovall responded with this email:
“As I began typing this last night, I was only thinking, ok, I will tell Joshua’s story – as I finish it this morning, I humbly have to tell you – it’s not Josh’s story – but the story of our POWERFUL AND AWESOME GOD. With true thanksgiving that for one of the first Christmases in my life I truly UNDERSTAND it is not about gifts, the perfect tree or families being physically together; Christmas is about remembering and honoring the King, Jesus- and how if you let him, he will get you through tough times such as a deployed or about-to-be deployed child or spouse during the holiday!
Christmas of 2005, our son had just finished boot camp and training school, and had been sent to his permanent duty station in Fairbanks Alaska. We all knew when he entered the Army, he would be heading to Iraq sometime after the training was over-I never dreamed that at Christmas that year, I would be faced with knowing when got back on a plane heading back to Fairbanks, he would do an almost immediate turn-around to El Paso for two weeks, and then off to Iraq before the end of January. My fears and concerns were escalating because he was a Calvary scout-the one who purposely seeks out the enemy.
As a former military person myself, and coming from a long line of military family, I knew the risks when he signed up, but he was totally dedicated to the cause, and always told me not to worry mom, I know what I’m doing.
He got to fly home that Christmas, and had already been told he would deploy sometime in January once they returned to Alaska, so that Christmas was filled with trying to get as much time in as possible, be positive, and wanting to tell him all the things that were weighing on my heart. Gift-giving was heart-wrenching, he had told us to please make sure any gifts were small enough to put in his gunnysack; otherwise he would have to store them at home.
While shopping for him I looked at potential gifts thinking, how can I tie this gift to home or our love – so I did things like purchasing a compass, and putting notes on each item with sayings such as – this compass will point you in the right direction while there, but it will also point you in the direction of home.
Due to a freak snow, we were not sure when/if he was going to get his plane to Dallas (this was Dec 23). He was to land at 5:00 pm the 23rd and we were going to be in Dallas to get him. His plane was held up in Seattle and it looked like he would be sitting in there until late Christmas day.
The Lord intervened and he got an unexpected seat on a flight, but it would land in Dallas at 3 or 4 AM Dec 24. My husband, being the wonderful man he was, decided to take a short nap, and get up at 1:00 am and headed off to Dallas. Josh’s flight was an hour late, but they got home in time to rest, to be ready for all the family.
I think God was involved with the flight delays, because while I was waiting for them to get back to Brownwood, I remembered a medallion Josh had given me when I was going through a tough patch in my life. When he got here, I had wrapped the medallion in wrapping paper and taped it to his bathroom mirror. It has praying hands on one side and has a quote on the other about “I said a prayer for you today…I know He answered”. After he opened it, he said he did not want to talk about, or think about his impending deployment the rest of his Christmas leave – so…
When he gave it to me, he said, “You have to give this back to me when you no longer need it.” – So I enclosed those same words to him along with the medallion. While he was deployed, I asked him constantly if he was carrying the medallion – he’d say, yep got it in my wallet. I am happy to say, my son handed me the medallion earlier this summer.
A friend of mine, Ann Johnson, had introduced me to, and gotten me a couple of copies of Peggy Joyce Ruth’s book, Psalm 91 for military families. She had also printed me a copy of the Psalms 91 verse she had stored on her computer. At that time, I did not attend church or practice my beliefs often, but I clung to that promise from God for His protection of my son. I did not know it then, but God put it on my heart to make that verse a living, breathing brace to hang onto over the course of the next 11 months (luckily, my son did not have to serve any Christmases there-but he was supposed to return in Feb. 2006 – His was the first unit to be extended by 4 months so he had to stay until November 2006). That verse is also what I now realize the starting of God pulling me and my family closer to Him – I can say today, I am church-attending, belief practicing Christian.
For Christmas, I printed enough copies of the Psalms 91 verse for my entire family (about 15 adults) on beautiful paper, rolled the copies, and tied them with pretty ribbon, and placed them on the Christmas tree. When all the family and extended family arrived, I told them of the power of that verse, and asked that they each place their copy somewhere that would allow them to pray that verse daily over Josh while he was deployed. I personally had mine in a frame on my desk at work, and prayed it daily, and I prayed it when I was feeling worried or anxious over him.
I also had Josh promise to pray it before he “broke wire” each day – while writing this email, I went back and reread some of the emails he had written me – this is a quote from one of them “And know every time I am about to break wire for the first time of the day I pull out the bible and read psalms 91. I promised you that and I am doing as I said. Sgt tells me to put it away sometimes and I just keep on driving on and do what I must.”
From the very first email he sent from Iraq – Jan. 17…When military finish a radio transmission-they use the word “out” so to signify that Psalms 91 was going to get him out of Iraq alive, we each signed our emails and letter with “91 out” beneath our names. When Josh returned from Iraq he had a tattoo placed on his calf – “91 Out”
As a side note: Little did my friend, Ann, know that Psalms 91 would carry another message. I got hooked up with Joyce Leidig from the Military Family support group – and they give the shield of strength to families and military personnel. When I read the bible verse on the back-I knew my son would eventually return home alive – as only He can, God showed me to believe, because the verse on the shield was none other than Joshua 1:9 (my son’s name and 91 backwards.)
My son got to return to us alive, he is medically retired at the ripe old age of 25, but thanks to the birth and death of our Savior, Jesus, his medical issues are not as severe as some, he can set off a metal detector, but he came home in one piece.
Christmas 2004, my son gave me a beautiful necklace with an Angel on it, I collect angels, on the back it says “I will watch over you”; Christmas 2005 my son gave me a copy of his military dog tag. I wore those two items along with the shield of strength on a chain that rested over my heart for 11 long months.
For families facing or dealing with a loved one deployed at Christmas, remember to thank God for the birth of Jesus, pray often, find a prayer partner, and read and reread Psalms 91 for military families.
I am attaching two photos – one shows the baby faced man that had just arrived in Iraq, the other of the man that had seen things the rest of us can only imagine.
In closing, I am sending a copy of this to my dear friend, Ann. Ann, I don’t think you know how much your time, concern, and prayers meant to me, a person that, at that time, did not know how to pray-as a matter of fact was embarrassed to pray out loud because I was afraid my lack of knowledge of the bible and God and Jesus would make me look foolish. You personally helped lead me to a personal relationship with God.
Sincerely & 91 OUT!!!!!,
Shirley Stovall
The PROUD mother of retired Army solider, Joshua Stovall”
