Waiting

Wow, ten days gets you out of the habit of writing big time, but then once you start you can ever so slowly remember how to put sentences together...


And so here I am after only a few hours, at it again. This time I'm inspired by thoughts of the Army....well, I take that back and raise that to all the military. Because, seriously, there is nothing like being separated from your family and there is DEFINITELY nothing like being separated from your family over the holidays. I suppose in some ways I was really lucky last year because after Brett left his leaving was followed in relatively quick succession by very important events: My Birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, His Birthday...pause...Valentine's Day. So yeah, that was incredibly hard. I missed my husband for every single one of those events. But we got them over and done with and we moved on. Or I should say, I moved on...I moved on so well, aka. I dealt with my amount of sadness, loneliness, anger ( at life for dealing us such a hand etc.), fear in such quick fashion that the wounds have all but healed. I've got my husband back! And I faced my birthday and thanksgiving this year with shear thankfulness just because Brett was here and not there ...but, now, getting to my point...I forgot the feelings and emotions. And I NEVER want to forget, especially for the sake of those going through it right now.

My heart is especially with Bethany this holiday season. She is not yet an army wife, but the girl is a PRO already! She deals with Chuck being deployed and in very dangerous situations on a daily basis with an amount of grace that I can only marvel at...when she called me after Chuck was in an IED explosion she was SO INCREDIBLY calm it nearly made me calm ( haha!)...seriously the girl is relying on something higher than herself.

My heart is with Jenn, who's husband just deployed for the first time with the Army Rangers- and in the weeks after he left she's faced not only loneliness ( living in a relatively new place), but also sickness and a car accident! I don't know WHY other horrible things decide to pile on top of the already horrible things of life, but she's dealt with it well. I know she is seeking God and praying her little heart out-and knowing that's how she's dealing blesses me.

My heart is with Sarah, who's husband is in one the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan-he's already lost his battle buddy once-and he has to wait in a line for hours just to call her for a few minutes, every two weeks when he's back on the FOB. Sarah is dealing with serious health issues and a recent miscarriage all by herself, with a strength that is truly unearthly.

And last but not least, my heart is with Amy, who after six months is waiting expectantly for her husband to come home for Christmas, only to hear that it might not happen. The Army's way of changing plans on us is often heartbreaking-but probably never so much as around the holidays...times when we feel the emptiness more.

I am so grateful to know these ladies...and many more! Women who are IN the military and women who are married into it...who face emotional hardship such as these ( and far worse I'm sad to say) at times when most American's could not fathom such "injustice". I am a better person because I have experienced, along with these women, some of the "inconveniences" of life-inconveniences that are for a far greater purpose than just us and our little lives.

This Christmas I am praying for the service men and women and their families, for I am truly grateful for their sacrifices-both great and small.