Loneliness can set in at home when your loved one is deployed. It’s an eerie feeling that creeps into the very heart of your home in the form of new noises noticed in the middle of the night that keep you awake or an unfamiliar echo down the hallway or the odd feeling of quiet upon returning home. As military wives, we dread this time period because it means a definite change in the household structure has occurred, and our life is now different even though it isn’t. We are embarking on a new adventure alongside our spouse yet are left to take care of what’s been left behind – the homefront.
There’s an old saying that “Home is where the heart is.” Home has different connotations for each individual because of culture, background, life experiences and other factors. Home can mean simply a brick home loaded full of furniture, toys and other important mementos. Home can be a humble apartment dwelling where you are somewhat settled in. Home can be your family’s home where you return for frequent visits and feel your soul nourished just from those familiar smells that you can’t quite capture in your new home dwelling. Home can mean being around loved ones who just love you and make you feel safe. Home can mean a fresh start in a safer environment conducive to your living needs. Home can create an environment of fortitude and refuge while the craziness of the world halts outside your doormat. Home is what you make it to be, what it means to you and/or what your soul demands to be fed.
So often, we overlook the best home away from home that nourishes, replenishes and builds back up our soul, and that home is your church home, be it a local church, military chapel on base, chapel post or other. One question beckons: “Can you call church your home away from home?”
In Ephesians 2:19-22, we learn how we are members of God’s household. More important, Ephesians 4 captures the importance of unity in the body of Christ. Even if you relocate more frequently than the number of years you’ve been married, even if you have lived in the same place all your life, or even if you are in a new location knowing no one, you can seek this home away from home more so than what you realize.
But, you say, I am alone, I don’t know anyone, & I am scared. How can I call this place my home away from home? We at Wives of Faith are eager to assist you with this very issue. Our top goal in the coming years is to open and support Wives of Faith chapters so that many military wives like you and I can meet, share, pray, and support one another in addition to your church home.
Your church home is a place where you and your spouse seek spiritual development and growth. Without it, you are lost, yet you feel lost when sitting in church without him. It’s an awkward feeling walking into church alone, guiding your children down the hallway to their Sunday school classroom, being by yourself and enduring the sympathetic looks from your peers. Yet we need to walk this walk with other Christians so as to strengthen our faith and combat on the homefront what comes our way.
Our spouses rely on us to keep the torch lit at home, and that means attending church without them. Our children need our strength of example to attend church especially during deployments. Our loved ones feel relief and encouragement when others from the church reach out to us. Our peers need to know how to best pray and support us during this trying time of separation.
We are not lost. We wives of faith are a part of something far greater than what we even realize. Your church home represents the body of Christ, and that includes you and your spouse regardless if it is one or both in attendance.
In addition to regular church attendance, it is important to gather with a group of women who can relate 100% to your experience. Wives of Faith has been blessed to grow via local chapters, our web site, Facebook page, Twitter page, and our monthly newsletter. There are so many items demanding the attention of your time and talent that it is easy to overlook attending church or participating in a group such as Wives of Faith. Consider the positive benefit of joining a Wives of Faith chapter: fellowship with military spouses encountering similar challenges, encouragement for being a military spouse, support for you and your children, and spiritual development and growth of your faith. In addition to your church home, Wives of Faith can provide a home away from home.
Stephanie Arredondo is the Wives of Faith Board Treasurer.
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