We all know how hectic and stressful the holiday season is under normal conditions. Imagine getting a phone call that your husband has been injured in Afghanistan! Imagine knowing he will be operated on in Germany and then transported to Walter Reed while you and your two children are in California and need to come to Maryland quickly!!! Then imagine all this just days before Christmas!!
Two weeks ago on December 15th I got a message from a friend Diana Mankin, a Marine mom herself, who posts on a military forum where she learned of this wounded Marine, SSgt Jarrod Wayman and that he and his family would all be arriving here at Walter Reed the next day, Monday the 16th. She asked if I could reach out to them when they arrived, to let them know that there is someone here who would personally be there for them any way possible. So......what takes place over the next few days is nothing short of many God moments where He opens one door after another.
My contact would be the injured Marines's sister in law, Lindsey who lives in Texas with her husband and three children. As soon as we established contact I asked for the names of Jarrod's wife and children. Hillary is his wife and they have two small children, 3 year old Bailey and her 6 year old brother Gavin. They would be needing to celebrate Christmas far from home so I asked Lindsey for a list of the presents the kids hoped Santa would bring. Considering there was precious little time, I reached out to a special friend, Jodi Warshall, who is an angel here on planet earth and who can move mountains at a moments notice. She posted a list of those presents on a forum, a registry of sorts, where others who support our military families can select items, purchase them and ship them to Jodi.
I had the opportunity to visit Jarrod, Hillary and the kids for a short time before Jarrod was scheduled for another surgery. Jodi gave me decorations for a tree that was supplied and was adorning their room at the lodge where they are staying on base. It was truly an honor to meet all of them. We had a short visit and I now had faces to go along with the names.
Knowing that Jodi had that project under control, I got back to Lindsey to tell her about Luke's Wings, the organization I have mentioned in previous articles that unites families and friends of wounded warriors. They provides airfare at no charge to and from military hospitals all year, but the holiday time is where they really shine....with their slogan "No Soldier Spends the Holiday Alone". I made sure Lindsey and her family, as well as her other sister's family knew they could rely on Luke's Wings to get them here to visit during the holidays. That meant my good friend Jennifer Magerer with Luke's Wings would be arranging their flights.
With that under control, it was time to get back to the Christmas presents which were purchased by some incredibly generous Americans all over the country.....and let me tell you that is an understatement. The gifts ranged from $20-$60 and every single item on a list of 20 items was purchased. By now it is the day before Christmas and all is well. The morning of the 24th Jodie arrived at my home where we spent a couple of hours wrapping all the gifts for Bailey and Gavin. We had everything spread out all over the floor and had a ball. Filled with the Christmas spirit we finished and loaded up her car (which was already overflowing with gifts for other families) and off she went to deliver them to the many families at Walter Reed.
Christmas morning Jodi and I were anxious to hear how the kids liked their presents while we awaited photos to appear on Facebook of them opening their gifts. Well, as mom Hillary posted, with each new gift they shouted "This is the BEST Christmas EVER!!" You can bet that made our day!!! Mission accomplished!!!! You would almost forget that they were not at home in California because their Christmas was about as normal as it could be, all things considered.
The Christmas holiday closed with our annual Marine Corps League Christmas dinner for the inpatients and their families. It is a catered dinner but I invited friends to volunteer to share our time with those who could not leave the hospital for the holiday. The Waymans came to enjoy the festivities and Santa was there too. A few more presents from Santa and then Christmas was over for another year.
When I look back at what appeared to be almost insurmountable tasks to complete in ten days I reflect once again on the fact that when God is on control we should never doubt. Everything fell in to place exactly as it should, and the smiles and the laughter of the children were the proof. To all who are reading this article, I wish you a year filled with blessings, kindness, generosity and peace and love for one another.
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