Lately, I’ve been thinking about what God’s word means to me as a military wife. One of the best things about the Bible is that it applies to all. There are no caveats, no small print, and no asterisks of exception. So, while I would like to pick and choose the passages that assuage my selfish self, God is constantly reminding me that He is talking to me too in every word He speaks.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 is perhaps one of the most recognizable passages to both Christians and non-Christians alike. It is quoted at just about every wedding and can be heard at every sermon on the topic of love. It is a passage that I sometimes like to add a “but” too. For me, it is far too easy to blame this whole military life as the reason I can’t show true love to my husband at any given a moment. “But God, my situation is too hard to show love!” “But God, you didn’t mean it for people going through what I am going through!” Yet I know good and well that the Lord’s word is just as applicable to me, a military wife, as it was to the Christians in Corinth. I wonder what these verses would have sounded like if Paul wrote them to us military wives? Perhaps, it would go a little something like this:
Love is patient during long deployments, demanding training and an erratic schedule.
Love is kind after months of being a single parent with no help with the house, the kids, the finances, the pets, the cars, homework, grocery shopping, sickness, or dirty diapers.
It does not envy the fact that every so often you get to deploy to a place that sounds more like a vacation than work.
It does not boast that I get to eat Mexican food for dinner while you finish yet another MRE.
It is not proud…well, actually it is proud of what you are doing for your country and your family, but never in a self-righteous way.
It is not rude because you aren’t really a phone talker and don’t have much to say during our few phone calls while you are away.
It is not self-seeking as evidenced by the sacrifice I make, along with you, each and every day.
It is not easily angered when you come home late, miss another soccer game, or don’t get back on the date I was told.
It keeps no records of wrongs because we know that our time together is so limited and precious that we can’t waste it on such pettiness.
Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth that through every deployment, every challenge, and every trial God is strengthening our marriage in a way our civilian counterparts can never understand.
It always protects our marriage from steering clear of temptations during separation,
Always trusts that God will bring us back together again,
Always hopes that it will be during our time on earth, but we know it may not be until we reach heaven,
Always perseveres through this military life because we have the strength of our Heavenly Father and an intense love for one another.
Love never fails because it is in it for the long haul, no matter what the cost, no matter where this military journey takes us.
Have you let this military existence become your excuse? God’s word is speaking as directly to our lives as He was to the Israelites, the Corinthians, the Thessalonians and every other group in the Bible. It is easy to allow our circumstances to excuse our behaviors that show a lack of love. But, we must never forget that the words written in the Bible were meant for us all without a mention of a caveat, minus all small print, and devoid of a tiny asterisk of exception for military wives.
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