Introduction

The month of May abounds with opportunities to show our gratitude and appreciation to the men and women of the military who serve our country selflessly year–round to protect our freedom. A unique way of honoring those individuals is to acknowledge the sacrifice that their spouses have made in their commitment and support of those who help keep our country safe. This year let’s recognize the silent heroes of the military who serve our country in their strength and commitment to the mission.

Refreshments

Easy Flag Dessert

Memorial Day means picnic tables filled with summer fruits like juicy red strawberries, ripe raspberries, blushing cherries and plump blueberries. Use these fruits to create a flag dessert. White pretzels can be used to represent the stripes. Check the Internet for other easy flag desserts.

Parents’ Day Out

Military spouses who are also parents carry double the load on the home front. To show gratitude to these parents offer a two to three–hour block of childcare at no cost for a parent to run a few errands without the company of the children, or to simply take some time to recharge. Ensure that everyone volunteering has been properly trained in childcare and Safe from Harm. Include these details in the invitation. If your group does not have connections with a wide pool of military spouse parents, reach out to the nearest military base. You can be put in contact with a Family Readiness officer who can easily spread the word and post a flyer on base.

Spouse Spa Spectacular!

Many times you can find local hair, beauty, or nail salons who are willing to donate their services to groups of military spouses at no cost for a “Military Spouse Appreciation Spa Day.” Host the spa day at your nearest military base. Provide coffee and light pastries for the participants.

Caring Cards

In the day of social media overload, a handwritten note is more valued than ever, especially to a military spouse whose family is working far from home, or whose spouse has died as they served our country. Provide assorted styles of blank thank–you notes and a variety of pens and stamps. Ask the women to write a note of gratitude or of encouragement to a military spouse and mail the batch of finished notes to:

Support Military Spouses

1100 Commons Boulevard, Unit 907

Myrtle Beach, SC 29572

Love

While most of us would describe love as an emotion, the Bible defines it by sacrificial actions. We read in John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” I’m not sure there is any other group of people who grasp this more fully than the family of a loved one who has served in the military. These men and women are the silent heroes who watch as their spouses leave their families to be deployed around the world, not knowing when or if they will return. Members of the military do not sacrifice themselves in this way for the paycheck or for the adventure, but they do so out of love for their country and the safety of its citizens. Theirs is a selfless, unconditional love that we can be challenged to model here at home.

However, Jesus raised the bar even higher in that the kind of love He extends to us is one that puts the needs of others above every one of our own. Jesus gave us the sweetest gesture of love when He gave Himself completely in death, so that we may live. He did this so that we could have freedom from death, although we are all deserving of it. Without this great, sacrificial love of Christ that is exactly where we would find ourselves.

This month, we observe Memorial Day and take time to recognize the military families who have given of themselves in so many ways. Let us remember above everything else, the sacrifice that our Lord and Savior made for each of us and the greatest act of love that was given on the cross.