It is Well

A dear friend shared this at an Army Wives’ Bible Study a few weeks ago… Any military spouse cannot read this without crying! Haha… It really hits home for a lot of us – it is SO easy to get caught up in life and all that we have to do. Sometimes we feel like we don’t make a difference  – our husbands are training, working, fighting, protecting, etc. and we seem to fade into the background at times. However, we all need a reminder that our job as part of the “silent ranks” (which, but the way, are not so silent) , is important 🙂

The Commissary Roadblock

It was just another harried Wednesday afternoon trip to the commissary. My husband was off teaching young men to fly. My daughters went about their daily activities knowing I would return to them at the appointed time, bearing among other things, their favorite fruit snacks,frozen pizza, and all the little extras that never had to be written down on a grocery list. My grocery list, by the way, was in my 16-month-old daughter’s mouth, and I was lamenting the fact that the next four aisles of needed items would have to come from memory.

I was turning onto the hygiene/baby aisle while extracting the last of my list out of my daughter’s mouth when I nearly ran over an old man. He clearly had no appreciation for the fact that I had forty-five minutes left to finish the grocery shopping, pick up my four-year-old from tumbling class, and get to school, where my twelve-year- old and her carpool mates would be waiting.

The man was standing in front of the soap selection, staring blankly as if he’d never had to choose a bar of soap in his life. I was ready to bark an order at him when I realized there was a tear on his face. Instantly, this grocery aisle roadblock transformed into a human.

“Can I help you find something?” I asked. He hesitated, and then told me he was looking for soap.
“Any one in particular?” I continued.
“Well, I’m trying to find my wife’s brand of soap.”I was about to loan him my cell phone so he could call her when
he said, “She died a year ago, and I just want to smell her again.”

Chills ran down my spine. I don’t think the 22,000-pound mother of all bombs could have had the same impact. As tears welled up in my eyes, my half-eaten grocery list didn’t seem so important. Neither did fruit snacks or frozen pizza. I spent the remainder of my time in the commissary that day listening to a man tell the story of how important his wife was to him—and how she took care of their children while he fought for our country.

My life was forever changed that day. Sometimes the monotony of laundry, housecleaning, grocery shopping and taxi driving leave military wives feeling empty—the kind of emptiness that is rarely fulfilled when our husbands don’t want to or can’t talk about work. We need to be reminded, at times, of the important role we fill for our family and for our country. Every time
my husband comes home too late or leaves before the crack of dawn, I try to remember the sense of importance I felt in the commissary.

Even a retired, decorated World War II pilot who served in missions to protect Americans needed the protection of the woman who served him at home.

WAY overdue for an update…. It’s been a little busy around here! Hubby returned from the field to walk into a house FULL of our things!!! I was so proud of our little house – I had worked for a solid week unpacking boxes, drowning in bubble wrap and paper,  putting together two bookshelves and eventually a dining room table, going up and down, up and down the stairs, and getting everything exactly where I wanted it….. at least for now 🙂

To my surprise and delight, my husband didn’t even make it through the doorway before he dropped all of his ridiculous-heavy bags and grabbed me up in his arms 🙂 It was wonderful….

Of course, he eventually realized that there were way more pairs of shoes in the foyer than when he left, and began running around the house trying to take it all in. Oh what a happy day!

The majority of our household goods that I’ve waited 2 1/2 months for, Austin hasn’t seen in over a year!!! While I am beyond excited and oh so grateful for all of our possessions (especially that they arrived in one piece), the past 2+ months have changed my perspective, yet again. All of these things that I have lived with daily for years, I thought I “needed”. That is, until I was living without them, not knowing when or if they would ever get here. We had to adjust our lives, and in the process God has taught us so much and drawn us even closer to him and to each other. Of course, now that our things have arrived along with our Jeep (finally! But that’s a whole ‘nother story….) we are making another adjustment.

It is SO easy to get caught up in the “things” of life…. even just trying to keep my house “clean” (which, according to my standards calls for a major deep-cleaning once a week, vacuuming almost daily, and no dishes in the sink, ever) can get in the way of the life and blessings that God has given…. I have missed opportunities to simply enjoy being with my husband because I was so concerned with the laundry or the dirt on the floor… I have to give myself a reality-check at those times – “Remember how you were living? And you were just fine and happy? It’s OK, that can wait… this, this beautiful life full of opportunities and precious moments that cannot be taken back, nor forgotten awaits. Pursue it. Enjoy it. Live it.”

The whispers of the Holy Spirit have been washing over me like a spring breeze… sometimes I need a little rain and thunder as well.

The sun keeps fighting its way through the clouds a little more every day. Snow is in the past…. at least I hope! The birds are chirping incessantly… even at 5 in the morning. But it’s just another reminder of God’s beautiful creation and the changing of the seasons.

I feel myself entering a new season as well… While our circumstances are slightly coinciding with this shift, it is not dependent on them. I am determined to enjoy every single second with Austin before he leaves and take each day as it comes, with whatever it brings. (Easier said than done, obviously). But the key is knowing that I, on my own, will fail every time. It is through God and the strength and peace that surpasses all understanding that I can.

On another note, I have decided to start getting up with Austin in the morning…. this means 5:30 AM. This is morning #1. So far, so good! Listening to Pandora (amazing music site, if you’ve never been…. http://www.pandora.com or google search for pandora radio), about to make some coffee, devotion, updating the blog… time to myself and God – this time is (and will remain) absent of the pressing things of the day.

We have a lot to accomplish in the next few months, and some big changes are coming…. But we’re ready, at least for today. Tomorrow can wait 🙂

If you have 4 minutes, listen to this: Kutless – “It is Well”