Deuteronomy 31:8 | “The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

It was a drill weekend and there in the church pew I sat, alone, with my Bible in hand and daughter in nursery. I was a happy plastic person. A brave, strong wife of a soldier in the Army. Until I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I was tired of pretending that I wasn’t upset about receiving the news of my husband’s deployment to Iraq. So, I just let it all out and the tears fell. I sobbed and sobbed as pictures of soldiers appeared and faded on the big screen. As much as I wanted my happy plastic face back on, I couldn’t stop crying. The end of the service neared and the sanctuary lights brightened. Before I could exit my row I had five women nearly scaling the backs of the pews to get to me. Each one tenderly extended their love and prayers over me. It was at that moment that I knew to the depths of my soul that I was being wrapped up in the almighty arms of God. As I dried my tears, I uttered apologetic words for the possibility that I may have distracted them from their worship time. This was entirely unnecessary because one of the women gently made the point that if you can’t cry in church then where can you cry? She was so right. Church is a place to take it to the alter and lay it all down. So oftentimes I think that we are expected to be brave or at least put on a brave face in spite of our (what I like to call) human-ness. In spite of our fears or worries about sending our husbands off to serve our country. In spite of our concerns for our children and how they will handle daddy being away. I didn’t go to church that day with the hope of breaking down. It just happened and it taught me so much. I learned that even though my husband may be leaving…I’m never alone. God is sitting right next to me.

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Well, the wedding weekend has come and gone. Our oldest son was married at the age of 31. He married a young woman with the most beautiful smile and heart. I truly wanted the day to last forever. After all those years of praying and waiting and wondering if this day would ever come, it was over too fast for me.
Many thoughts crossed my mind during that weekend but I only want to share a few. I watched him as he dealt with getting to know new family in-laws and how congenial and relaxed he seemed with them. I observed as several issues came up that needed quick attention and he was on them without reservation. They had pictures taken before the ceremony and he shared with us how very calm he felt being able to spend time with his beautiful bride to be. Honestly, I attribute so much of the way he deals with life to the military life we led. He adjusts and he does it with great ease.
The ceremony began and our son walked out with my husband, his DAD, by his side. Everyone walked down the aisle and the music changed for his bride to walk to him. I turned around and there he was looking at her with tears welling and such love I had never seen in his face. I knew he was in love but did not realize until that moment how deeply he loved her.
I was so proud to know that as a military son, he had had the opportunity to be in many new situations with new friends and new surroundings. This was his time to begin his life as a family with his new wife and new home.
The Pastor encouraged them to watch the video that was being filmed that day every year on their anniversary. I thought of those of you who are military wives right now and wondered if you have a video of your wedding that you could watch to renew your love and your commitment to your husband at this time. If he is at home, watch it with him. If he is deployed, watch without him. If you have only pictures, pull them out and take time to look through them.
Marriage is a commitment. We get bogged down with the things of life and forget sometimes that wonderful feeling of deep exciting love for our spouses. Ask the Lord today to help you to recommit your life to your husband and to love him with that love you felt on your wedding day.
Pray for your husbands daily. I find that when I pray for someone it truly keeps me connected in a loving and positive way.
May the Lord bless you today with peace and joy as you continue the journey as a military wife! May he restore the passion and excitement in your marriage that was created from the beginning of time.
MILITARY WIFE……. Blessings to you this day!!

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Hey everyone… this will be a quick post today because I have way too many things to get to today and frankly, my brain just isn’t working that well to come up with something really clever to say.

Last night we had our June meeting for the Nashville WoF chapter. It was a lot of fun! I hope everyone who came also thought so. Pics are to the right, so enjoy the slideshow. We will change it out with new ones as soon as another chapter sends me some (hint hint).

We talked about ways to make the most of our marriages: communication, kindness, caring, touch, were just a few.

I don’t think I’ve mentioned it here but I’m officially blogging now for Military Spouse magazine. I have a new post up there (I wrote it last week but it didn’t get posted until I think the weekend.) It’s all about deployment resolutions… feel free to add your own thoughts, there or here!

We should have a new Wives of Faith website very soon, hopefully by the end of the month and we’re looking for more resources to add to our resource page. If you have some tips or suggestions of favorite links, please send those to Shauna, our Military Info Officer in the know! Email info@wivesoffaith.org and put “Shauna 411″ in the subject line.

Thanks!!

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Army Wives was on last night and I think the story line that struck me the most for this episode was the issue between Chase and Pamela. Chase is in Special Forces and is gone all the time. Pamela never knows where he is, what he’s doing, or when he’s coming back. He rarely calls or writes when he’s away and so she’s left to be mom and dad to her kids and deal with everything while he’s gone but when he’s home, she feels like he expects her to drop everything.

Throughout most of the episode, even though her husband was home, Pamela was a bit cold towards him. She was tired of the rollercoaster and so she had turned off her emotions. She just wasn’t going to deal with him.

I’ve found myself doing this before. It’s easier to do sometimes than risk feeling the disappointment when your husband doesn’t call, or doesn’t do things exactly the way you want him to do. But is it the best way to handle it? Probably not.

I loved though that Chase explained to Pamela how he finally understood what she goes through not being able to call. When he found out about the bombing and wasn’t able to get a hold of her but had heard her car was at the location. They ended up really sitting down and talking and hearing what each had to say. It ended with Chase making dinner for the family. A great family moment.

What did you think about the episode last night? Or have you ever felt similar to the way Pamela felt last night?

I’m getting ready for our Wives of Faith meeting tonight! Can’t wait!

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This will be my last post until Monday because if all goes well, my husband and I will be taking a much needed weekend vacation to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. It’s all resting on whether or not my son loses his baseball game tonight. If he wins, well, we’ll be spending our quality time together at the baseball park this weekend.

If you haven’t answered the poll to the right, yet, please do so.

I’ve been thinking a lot about community lately and what that looks like. Our whole purpose for Wives of Faith is to bring military wives together. But in what form? My hope and desire is to see women connect in person. In our chapter meetings, in our bigger events, but preferably, over coffee or at the park, sharing life together.

But, it’s not always easy to do this. It seems that many of us these days prefer the online world. While I love the forums as much as the next avid onliner, I still wonder if online is better than meeting in person.

So I’d like to get your thoughts on this because we are probably going to be offering a message board when our new web site launches and I would love some feedback on what you like about online communities. What do they offer that “in person” doesn’t? And what do they not?

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