Growing up as a Marine daughter and sister, I knew I never wanted to marry a man in uniform. In fact, I really didn’t care about getting married at all. God has a funny way of changing plans though.
In the Fall of 2001, I was going through a finding myself phase. I had already declared 3 different majors in college… I wasn’t exactly sure of who I was, let alone what I wanted to do with my life. One thing was certain: I was happy being alone and having a little fun on the side.
A year or so before I’d let my walk with God go from a daily steady jog to a slow crawl. In all that was happening in my life, I didn’t “have time” for God. I still believed in Him, still cried to Him in times of desperation, but I wasn’t spending the daily devotion with Him either. In fact, the only time I spent in deep reflection and prayer were the weeks surrounding 9/11.
Little did I know, there was a man on the other side of the world that God would put in my life who would bring things back around in a way only He is capable of. I met my husband about a month after the 9/11 attacks. For the first time in a few years my heart was in the right place, I was spending time in devotion that I hadn’t previously made time for.
I was young, unattached, and happy to remain that way. However, a friend decided it would be good for me to meet a mysterious boy in the Air Force that would be in Kansas City for his mid-tour leave from Korea. I agreed, but sent off a snarky email explaining just what he couldn’t expect from a good, Christian raised, Midwestern girl. In response, my New Yorker Airmen sent me an equally snarky email detailing exactly what he didn’t want from a stuck-up girl from Kansas City.
Today, he tells me he knew he loved me before he met me… that he knew he was going to marry me before he’d ever laid eyes on me. We were engaged 5 days after we met and married 12 months later. The world was filled with uncertainty and sorrow, but the two of us felt we’d been given a chance to start again. Amazing how God works, in the midst of such sorrow, He gives two people happiness that exceeds anything they’d ever known possible.
Knowing what my uniform-wearing new husband did for a living, I knew he’d deploy when the war talk deepened. I knew he’d be in danger, I just didn’t expect it 5 weeks after we were married… 5 weeks after I moved to a new state 1200 miles away from my family and friends. I was also unaware of God’s desire to win my heart back once and for all. My husband deployed to an unknown location for an unspecified amount of time. I was alone with my thoughts, and finally, my prayers. For a month after my husband left I didn’t hear his voice and the only emails I received were short and cryptic. My nerves were shot. Slowly, my relationship with God got back on track.
As the days wore on, I spent more time in devotion and found my faith growing stronger. The evening the war started, I found myself in the airport at Kansas City saying goodbye to my mother. I had returned to Kansas City from my new home in North Carolina to say goodbye to my grandfather as he met his Savior. Little did I know, Shock and Awe began the night I flew home. We circled Raleigh for hours until we were cleared to land. I spent the time grasping my Bible, reading and finding comfort in His words.
Through the years, my husband and I have grown closer to God. We lean on Him in our times of need and praise Him for the blessings He has given us. Not only has my relationship strengthened with God, but so has my husband’s relationship. We’ve grown in our faith separately, as well as together. Our faith has drawn us together and strengthened our marriage, and guided us along the path that God wants us to follow. There will always be more deployments, more tragedies, but one thing is certain… I will forever make time for God and thank Him for my uniform-wearing Hero.
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