Pride and Anguish
Gabriel Navarro was a first-generation immigrant from Mexico living in Houston, Texas. His son, Porifirio, was a Marine corporal fighting somewhere in the Pacific. Mr. Navarro’s letter to his son reflects the mixture of intense pride and anxiety felt by World War II parents:
It has been one year to the day that, courageous and optimistic, full of faith and love of country, you left our side to join the armed forces of America. The forces of Democracy and Liberty. Twelve months of absence, during which time our thoughts and my paternal affection have followed you step by step across an ocean full of dangers… My heart stops beating when I think of death extending its wings over your head.
The courage and enthusiasm which you demonstrated upon leaving us to answer your country’s call, which needs the help of its children, filled me with satisfaction and pride. And you may be sure that your mother, who gave you life, also covers you with benedictions and prayers, just as your mother country covers you with its flag.327
I believe that the most difficult test of faith for any person is to have a son or daughter in a life-threatening situation. This anxiety is prolonged and even more acute during wartime, when duty calls the child to face danger over a long period of time. We might see the higher purpose and feel pride in their devotion to an important cause. Nevertheless, as the parents of today’s military men and women can attest, the worry is still crushing. There is only one source of effective relief from this degree of anxiety, and that is our Savior, Jesus Christ. During his ministry he explained and modeled the perfect love that our heavenly Father has for his children. He is always there to ease our burdens and to take our anxieties upon himself. His constant care and concern is the ultimate source of comfort in this life and in the eternal future.
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
—Matthew 6:26–27