Thursday Thoughts - Deployment This Summer

Every military wife deals with deployment in her own way... some stay busy, some stay home a lot, some work, some don't, some have a lot of kids, some have no kids. We all have our own unique story. Not one of us will handle our husband's deployment the same. What stresses one wife out, like the car breaking down, might be no big deal for another... but she might panic when she finds a spider in the house that her husband usually would kill for her.

The thing that unites us though is that we all miss our husbands. We all feel that same ache when we reach across the bed for him and he's not there. We all know that sadness and that twinge of fear when we hear about a Soldier who's been wounded or killed in combat. On the Wives of Faith website there are many stories of women who share their stories... here is one by a brand new military wife named Jamie. I think we can all relate to her. What's your story?


What I did this summer…

I am a teacher and I will return to school next month. One of my usual “icebreakers” and easy ways to assess writing skills is the “what did you do this summer?” And I usually answer the question myself to demonstrate what I am looking for in their responses. So what did I do this summer? I married a soldier . . . a man who has given up his basic freedoms and comforts to fight a war in a country thousands of miles from his beloved South. Our first year of marriage will be spent 11-and-a-half hours apart and on different continents. There is no way I would be able to do this but for the bond which unites us in Christ . . . I have no doubt in my head and heart that God called me to be this man’s wife and to support and love him during this deployment.

The first day he left brought pain, numbness and an ache I felt in my bones. I had to channel each thought of loneliness and hurt into a prayer to God. It was work . . .not talking to God . . . just work to take my hopeless thoughts into hopeful prayers . . .but I did it. Or rather, God gave me the strength to do that. As the day went by and tears filled my eyes as I thought of each moment spent with him and each moment I still wanted to spend with him, lost time, the empty 12 months stretching out before me, I countered each thought with a prayer and a verse I found for him.

Jeremiah 15:20-21: “And I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail over you, for I am with you to save you and deliver you, says the LORD. I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.”

I found this verse for him but found it actually applied to me. I am not fighting a war with insurgents in a foreign culture, but I am fighting a battle in my heart to be strong and positive and let God handle my grief. I can’t handle it. I can’t do it by myself. But I can do it with God redeeming me and delivering me from the ruthless fear that was attacking me. I have to be a wall of bronze . . . not just for me and my walk with God but for my husband. I must be strong for him and our marriage. I must give the grief to God and let Him turn it into grace.

And so the second day, I stopped the crying, showered, and went for a walk. I organized the email and phone chains to support my husband and I sent love and prayers almost 8,000 miles away. The third day I actually met up with friends and again, sent love and prayers. And I send love and prayers to all the wives during deployment.


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