A Military Wife's Biography - Holly Klich

Tonight we are continuing the series on the ladies of The Lantern. We hope you are enjoying getting to know these women by reading their stories. We appreciate hearing your comments about how God is speaking to you through their testimonies. If you are new to The Lantern, you can read all of the biographies right here.

Holly Klich

My name is Holly Klich, and I am the 29 year old wife to Chris and we have a nine-month old dog, Chopper.

What was your life like growing up?
I had a pretty amazing childhood. My father was Active Duty Army throughout the 18 years spent living at home. Before I moved to Clarksville/Ft. Campbell, I had never continuously lived anywhere for more than 3 years. I have lived in Georgia, California, Greece, Kentucky, Germany, Virginia, Kansas, Oklahoma and lived in North Carolina during the summers when I was in College. I loved traveling, moving, and meeting new people. I grew up playing sports and doing just about any activity that was available. My family attended church at the Protestant Chapel at whatever post we were stationed at. We played board games together, watched movies, traveled, and did a lot of sightseeing. One of my favorite childhood memories is all of the Major League baseball games that we went to, especially the Atlanta Braves!

Life began to get a little more difficult for me when we moved to Columbus Georgia in 1993. It was the first time we lived off post, the first time I went to an off post school, and everything was very different. During the three years we lived in Columbus I learned many difficult life lessons. I learned a lot about grieving and loss as a student at my school was killed in a gang related shooting, a senior from my church was killed by a drunk driver, and my beloved great uncle died of a drug overdose. I struggled in the face of peer pressure and made a lot of bad decisions. It was by Grace alone that I maintained good grades, participated in community and school sports and activities, as well as remained active in the youth group. One really cool opportunity that I had was to dance in the opening ceremonies of the 1996 Olympics. I was a butterfly! After 9th grade I moved to Ft. Sill, OK for 10th-12th grade. In Oklahoma, I played soccer year round on a traveling team and for the High School. I made some really great friends “the posties” since we all lived on Ft. Sill.

I received my BA in Psychology with a minor in Women’s Studies from Wesleyan College in Macon, GA in 2003 and graduated with my Master of Social Work (MSW) from The University of Georgia in 2005. After graduating from UGA, I took a job in Macon, GA and soon after met Chris. We married (in our living room with our immediate families) on December 22, 2007 before his first deployment to Afghanistan and had our Wedding on June 13, 2009 in Nashville with our family and close friends.

How did you come to know the Lord?
I grew up going to church with my family, but never really had a church home because were military and moved a lot. When I was in 7th grade I started going to church with my mom, joined the youth group, made amazing friends that accepted me and all of my 13 year-old awkwardness. I was excited about church, learning about The Bible, and being surrounded by other Christian youth. I was at a weekend retreat and after a message and activity about 'the masks we wear" the youth minister started talking about being Saved. I didn't really know what that meant, so I asked the youth minister's wife, Anita. Anita and I sat and talked and prayed and that night I was saved. Soon after that I was baptized.

I must say that while I was still young in my faith, and was being tested, I did not always make the right choices. I struggled with faith, spirituality, religion, and attending church through my high school and college years. While I always believed in God and had my Bible sitting on my bed side table, I didn't always pursue an active relationship with God. Two years ago when my husband deployed to Afghanistan I felt like the only thing that was going to help me make it through that time was knowing that he was safe in God's arms every day he was away from me. I began to pray and talk to God more and talk to my friends about God more. In the past year I have been so blessed. My husband and I found Grace Community Church, have made amazing friends through serving in Cross Street and Operation Serve, in my community group, and just hanging out at the coffee tables between services. I have grown closer to God and am actively pursuing and strengthening my relationship with God.
In the past few months, I have learned that when I am speeding through life and I hear God say slow down, I better listen. He works in mysterious ways and although I don't think that God made me break my foot, I know that he was present and has a plan for me during this time. I have grown so much closer to him through this trial!

How do you spend your time currently?
Currently, I am working with as a School Based Therapist and Case Manager in an local elementary school via a contract through a community mental health agency. I work mainly with children with emotional and behavioral problems. I absolutely love the children and teachers that I work with. I am also studying to take my LCSW exam as soon as the board reviews/approves my application. I love spending time with my husband, play with my dog, Chopper, reading, baking/cooking (with others), scrapbooking, and hanging out with friends! I have been limited the past 3 months by a foot fracture, but I also enjoy working out and participating in road races (although I am super slow).

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Thanks Holly!! Come back next week to meet another amazing military wife... and don't forget to keep checking back throughout the week for lots of upcoming activities!