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Yellow Ribbons
by Carol Mock
Jan 16, 1991:
I was working 3-11 pm shift at a small rural hospital near my home in PA.
My 18 year old daughter had graduated from high school the previous May and joined the Navy shortly thereafter. On that evening she was a crew member aboard the USS McKee (a “Sub-Tender”) poised in the Persian Gulf with the anticipated start of “Operation Desert Storm” looming over us all.
There was a TV on in the waiting lounge at work and one of my co-workers was watching the news on his break. We all knew that a hard time in history was about to begin. However, this was my first experience as a “military mom”. As the news was winding down, a special report came on and my co-worker beckoned me over…. “Carol, it’s starting…come in here!”
It was approximately 6:40 pm EST and Marlin Fitzwater (White House Press Secretary at the time) was speaking … “The liberation of Kuwait has begun”. Operation Desert Storm started with an attack by Apache helicopters and I stood staring at it all “live and in color” with my heart in my throat. I couldn’t talk, I could barely breathe.
Of course, I knew that being on a ship was much safer than being a soldier on land, but it didn’t take away the pain and fear that comes with being the mother of a child in harm’s way. Like many other military families we began watching the news more intently, our knowledge of geography quickly increased, and we prayed harder and more often than we ever had before. Churches were full and care packages were sent to the troops in mass…not only by the families, but by church groups, workplaces, scout troops and more.
Then there were the yellow ribbons. They were everywhere…on mailboxes, store windows, car antennas, waving at the top of American flags on homes and businesses alike. You couldn’t turn a corner without seeing the signs of hope and patriotism.
That was my life for the next 10 years or so as more of my children served…another in the Navy and one in the Marines. As I prayed for their safety, I prayed also for the innocent victims of conflict…for the citizens of Haiti, Iraq, The Persian Gulf region in general, Bosnia and Liberia. (I am probably forgetting some of the places they served.) I prayed for a hedge of protection and for them to feel the Father of us all walking with them and for them to somehow come home untouched by the ugliness and hardships they had experienced.
I breathed a sigh of relief that they all came home safely and I have been blessed by watching them grow and have families of their own. The yellow ribbons just kind of faded away, returning for a time after “9/11”.
Then in 2007 our youngest son graduated from high school and became a Marine.
He is presently deployed to Afghanistan and, once again, my heart aches for the danger that my child is facing. I think of the last hug I got at the airport when dropping him off after his pre-deployment leave. It was one of those moments frozen in time. I can feel the softness of his old sweatshirt against my face as we embraced and the stillness of the moment. I told him I would miss him and looked forward to the homecoming. He told me several times to pray for them. I didn’t want to leave him, but hanging on longer just made it harder. On the way out of the airport I got a text on my cell phone….”No matter what happens, I want you to know I love you…You are a great Mom and I never had to wonder if you had my back. I will miss you. Take Care. Pray for us…Love, Nate”.
I still have the text saved in my messages.
A couple of days ago the President of Afghanistan gave the “ok” for the surge on Kandahar to begin and once again I just stared at the TV and the familiar squeezing of my heart began again. I know Nathan is saved and God walks with him. Some days I am good trusting in the Lord, some days I still worry. I fall asleep at night praying for his unit and for all those serving. I awake in the middle of the night thinking I hear the phone ring…only to realize it was my imagination…or maybe it is God waking me to pray. Is my son in immediate danger?
So, I pray…I tell God that I do not know what Nathan needs at this moment, but I know that He does and I ask Him to provide it. I pray God’s will in the situation, in his life and (selfishly) I hope that God’s will is also my will… that Nathan make it home safely…healthy in mind, body and spirit. I pray that the lessons learned in this difficult time will make all of our troops stronger, closer to God, that they will use their experiences for good.
Oh…and yellow ribbons…..I want them all to be greeted by family, friends, and yellow ribbons….a sea of yellow ribbons…
Til They All Come Home.
