Trophy Club Mom Writing Devotional Book For Parents Of Soldiers

TROPHY CLUB (CBSDFW.COM) - The holidays can be an especially tough time for families who have loved ones from home.

A North Texas mother whose son is serving overseas in the U.S. Army knows that firsthand.

She's now using her own personal experience to help other parents of military men and women cope.

"They say little kids, little problems; big kids, big problems," said Alice Murphy of Trophy Club. "

Murphy's son, Jonathan Murphy, 31, is currently on his third deployment to Afghanistan.

The Army Captain has been in the military for eight years and is a part of a Special Forces mission in Kandahar.

"I knew this deployment would be more dangerous than the last two," she said. "Even though our children are adults, they're still our children, and we worry about them."

Murphy sends her son weekly care packages to help deal with the distance, but coping with her concern for his safety isn't easy.

"I'd been searching or sometime for a book that would offer inspirational messages from other parents who've been through the same thing with the same worries," she said. "I found lots of books written for spouses and children, but really nothing for parents."

Murphy is now creating her own.

"It's just parents sharing what they've gone through," she said of the devotional book she is compiling. "Stories, poems, prayers, photographs, whatever they want to send in."

Murphy has reached out to countless parents of servicemen and women, through personal email, letters, and Facebook. She's already received dozens of responses, but needs more before publishing the book.

"It helps me cope. It helps me realize people are in the same situation I'm in." she said, "When I hear what they're feeling I'm like 'oh, I feel that too,' so it normalizes the emotion for me."

She has gathered material from people all across the nation, who have had children serving in various wars.
"I have had a lot of parents send me passages from the Bible hat have sustained them," she said.
Through the experience, Murphy has found the project that was intended to help others, has already helped her in the process.

If you would like to share a story to be included in the book, you can contact Murphy at parentsofasoldier@yahoo.com or send it to 1224 N. Hwy 377, Suite 303-101, Roanoke, TX 76262