Community, friendship and the sharing of life with friends is something that my heart desires.

As a military wife, community is something that seems to come and go with each duty station.

In some locations community has been full and rich.

That was my experience in Germany, a spot that was hard on our family. But the blessings of the community that was there with me helped me through those hard times.

I had survival sisters and best friends that I will cherish forever.

And in others, it has completely eluded me.

In this place, where we have been for the last two and almost a half years, community has not been found. My longing for it has been desperate, and I have resided myself to it’s absence.

But even as we’re planning our next move, I have not given up on this pursuit.

This is something that I am learning…the pursuit of your dreams, even your dreams for community, must never be given up.

In May I am joining a Bible study group with other women and I’m doing to dive in as hard as I can.

We may only have six weeks left, but I’m going to live hard and fierce in these six weeks.

I have a new friendship developing and in some ways I hear the murmurings of “there’s not enough time…no time to develop this”. But God can richly bless in short time. This short time can be a blessing to my life and to the lives of the women God has for me to form community with.

As a military spouse I often have to work harder and with more intention to cultivate community, but the blessing of community is worth every bit of it.

Have you found community where you are?

This post is linked to Five Minute Friday at The Gypsy Mama.

Each we she extends an invitation to write, no overthinking, no editing, for just five minutes.

The topic this week was Community.

Ten years ago seems like a lifetime away from where I am right now.

Ten years ago I was a teacher in a small rural school.

I taught a self-contained special education class of 6th, 7th and 8th graders.

It was mid-morning when the principal came into my classroom and told me there was a phone call I needed to take.

I left my assistant in charge of my students and walked across the hall to the phone in the teacher’s workroom.

My husband was on the phone. He told me something about the pentagon being hit and not knowing where his brother-in-law was. His brother in law who was just beginning his job at the pentagon, but stayed home that day to wait on his household goods to be delivered. But we didn’t know that yet…

I was confused about what was going on.

I remember a boisterous 7th grade science teacher rambling about how our country was under attack and something about a declaration of war.

I walked back to my classroom in a daze, completely confused and in a bit of shock.

What was happening??

I remember my students’ questions and not knowing how to answer them.

I remember praying for my brother in law in silence.

I remember a student coming back from another class and telling us that our country was bombed.

I remember jumping at the sound of explosions were heard from the nearby Vulcan Materials Company. These explosions were a regular occurrence, but on this day I jumped.

I remember hearing more about the events of the morning during my lunch break at school. With a sense of relief I thanked God that my brother in law was safe, but I wondered about the many who did not survive the day. What were their loved ones going through?

I remember coming home from work and watching the news with my husband. We made a commitment during our first two years of marriage not to watch television. We had it stored in the closet. We took it out to watch the news coverage over the next days.

I remember exactly what I cooked for dinner before my husband went out to a prayer service.

I remember having so many questions and not so many answers.

I never would have thought then that ten years later, my husband would be serving as a chaplain in the Army.

I never would have thought then that we would have been separated twice as he served in deployments to Iraq.

I never would have thought then that I would sit in memorial services for soldiers who gave their lives serving our country as a result of the attacks on that day.

I never would have thought then that I would be able to empathize with Army spouses who are surviving each day, caring for their children while their husbands are away at war.

I never would have thought then that I would be one of those Army spouses.

I never would have thought that the events of that day would eventually touch my life in such a personal way.

So much has changed in the last ten years since our country experienced the devastation of 9/11.

But even as our world experiences devastation, heartbreak, and disaster. Even as we change with each coming year, one thing will always remain the same.

God’s love will always remain.

He made the ultimate sacrifice.

Though my world may fall and crumble.

Though my life may change, His steadfast love will never change.

But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever.
~Psalm 52:8

I will trust in Him, in His love, in His faithfulness, and in His promises.

Post linked to: Remembering September 11 at 5 Minutes for Mom

Today is Veteran’s Day and as such, I am thinking of an aspect of my life that I don’t write about often enough.

I am an Army wife.

My husband serves as a chaplain in the United States Army.

We have been through three difficult moves.

We have survived two long deployments.

We have lived overseas with three small children.

Today I am reminded that I am the wife of a Veteran.

The life of the Army family is both rewarding and extremely difficult at the same time.

One comment that I hear all too often from people outside the military to Army (or other military) spouses when they are expressing their angst over the difficulties we face is, “Well, it is the life you chose.”

I don’t think those that make this comment realize how offensive and flippant it can sound to its recipient.

Yes, it is the life we chose.

It is the life we chose, in choosing to fall in love and marry our husbands.

It is the life we chose in choosing to go where our Soldier goes.

It is the life I chose in choosing to support my husband in his calling to minister to soldiers and their families.

But in no way could I or any other Army spouse have foreseen the difficulties that came along with that choice.

In the same way that you may have chosen to marry your sweetheart in whatever profession he is in.

In the same way that you may have chosen to have children and stay home taking care of them.

In the same way that you may have chosen to continue working after having your children.

Each of those situations come with difficulties. Difficulties that are not responded to with the same “just deal with it” response that is often handed out to military families.

So, what do we, as military families, who have chosen this rewarding, but very difficult life want?

I think the biggest desire that we have is for a listening ear, for empathy, and for encouragement.

It’s really just what we all desire during the difficult times in our life.

The relationships that I built through blogging during my husband’s last deployment were a huge encouragement to me. I specifically remember Crystal at Life at the Circus and Erin at Closing Time who reached out and connected with me. The words they offered through blog comments of support and encouragement during that difficult time blessed me more than they will ever know.

My friend Ann at Househol6Diva has created a Military Spouse Blogging Community in an effort to build community. Not just community between military spouses, but also between civilians and military families.

I would encourage you to visit some of the Military Spouse blogs that she has listed and reach out to a spouse that has chosen to support her husband as he serves our country.

We went away to Williamsburg for the weekend. As a chaplain, my husband does marriage retreats for Army families and we went along for this one.

This retreat was held at the Great Wolf Lodge, which was such a fun place for us to visit. It was family friendly and the kids had an absolute blast.

We had planned to spend our free time visiting Colonial Williamsburg, but ditched those plans to offer the kids some water park fun!

The fun that they had at the inside water park was well worth our change of plans.

Sometimes we need a change of plans to put things into perspective. My husband and I realized that this time away wasn’t about us as we delighted in our children giggling and playing in the water.

We need to know as parents when to sacrifice and put the needs of our children first, before our own.

We have a lifetime of meeting our own needs, but our children will only be small for a very short amount of time.

And then it will be gone.

They will be gone….living lives of their own, out from under the safety of our nests.

Yikes!! That’s not something that I want to think about, but it will happen.

I spent all of this week preparing for and dreading yesterday….the day of our Household Goods Shipment.

I asked for your prayers earlier in the week and I just want to give a huge praise and a big thank you to everyone that prayed for us….it went so much smoother than I expected and it was done in ONE day, instead of the normal two days that were allotted.

The packers arrived later than we expected them, so that made for a nervous morning. Finally I called the transportation office and found out that they were doing two small shipments before coming to us.

They arrived maybe thirty minutes after that…not bad at all.

The first thing they did was walk around to see what all we had. After doing that, the lead packer said he thought they could have everything packed and loaded by the end of the day. He asked me if we would have somewhere to sleep that night. I remembered the air mattress we had stored in the basement and told him to go for it!

And that they did!

This German crew was so much better than any of the packing crews we’ve ever had in the states. They only took two breaks….one for lunch and one when they were finished packing in the house.

AMAZING!

By nightfall everything was packed, loaded, and crated on a truck! We have a guaranteed date for delivery of early January with a small possibility that it may even arrive by Christmas.

The thing that I was most nervous about was the kids. We had plans for my friend to keep them on Thursday and Friday while our packers were here. But those plans fell through when MC came down with a fluke fever on Tuesday. I took her to the clinic and she wasn’t tested for H1N1, but he said that it probably was that….well, I’m fairly certain it wasn’t. He also gave her antibiotics for possible tonsilitis….it’s our guess that that’s what it was. And that’s what you sometimes get with government health care, but I’ll save that tangent for another day.

Anyway, I didn’t want to risk my pregnant friend and her little boy getting sick because of us, so we decided to keep the children at home during our pack out. I prayed extra hard on Thursday night that all would be well and they wouldn’t get in the way.

And they were absolutely perfect!

Thankfully, they always find a way to behave their best when it matters most.

We rarely use the television as a babysitter, but yesterday was a day that just called for it. We let them watch our television until it was time for that to be packed up and then they sat in a corner with the portable DVD player watching movies.

MC even took a nap on the floor and so slept so hard she didn’t even feel her brother kick her as he rolled around watching his movie!

So, thank you so much for your prayers this week, and especially yesterday. They were answered in amazing ways!

A successful packing day and answered prayers for my finer things this Friday….what’s yours?

Visit Finer Things Friday to see more finer things to be thankful for today!

Boy! Am I ever one tired girl!

Our move officially got underway today as we met with transportation to schedule all three of our shipments. Yes, three!

We will first ship our car (POV in military speak) on Thursday.

Then next Thursday and Friday will be our household goods shipment. This is the shipment of the bulk of our house, including all the big stuff like furniture, pictures, rugs, TV, etc. But excluding the necessary stuff that we will need to live for the next few weeks such as sheets for the beds that the Army will loan to us, cookware, dishes and a few toys. That will all be in what is called Unaccompanied Baggage which will be picked up the day before Thanksgiving.

We went out tonight to rent a teeny tiny car for Keith and I to run errands in for the next few weeks as well.

All along, we have been talking to the girls about our move. They are excited to go to South Carolina and eventually to Virginia. It is a constant topic of conversation around here.

I think it is starting to feel much more real to them as it is to us as well. And along with that comes a little bit of confusion and a mix of emotions.

So, I have a few quotes from the day just for your entertainment….

The girls were asking questions about the car being shipped at lunch today. They seem to be pretty attached to our Odyssey and are genuinely concerned for it’s safety. Because of something that the lady at transportation said, they are especially concerned that it may fall off of the boat that it’s being shipped on. I took some time to talk to the girls about how they are feeling about the move before quiet time today. EA said she was scared because, “Mommy, boats are little and cars are big, so it isn’t going to fit!”

Also as I was talking to the girls before quiet time, I told them that packers were coming next week and would pack up almost everything in their room. We have had this conversation many times, but I want to make sure that they are not caught too off guard by an empty room. EA looked around and said, “Well, they are going to need a really big box for my kitchen!”

Now, while they have been apprehensive about the van being shipped they were excited about getting a new car to drive. MC was in my room before we left to do that tonight and she was asking questions about it. Like I said, we just got an itty bitty car…a Smart car…for Keith and I to run errands. So, I told MC that there wouldn’t be room for her in the car. Her eyes immediately filled with tears and she began to cry. When I asked her what was wrong, she responded with “But Mommy, I want to still live with you!” Her Daddy and I had to explain to her that we won’t leave her alone when we have the small car, one of us will always be at home with her. I guess she thought that since she wouldn’t fit in it that we would leave her. Poor girl!!!

And lastly, my two little girls are such good encouragers! We drove to the Ramstein Air Base tonight to arrange the rental car. As we neared the base, EA proudly exclaimed from the back of the car, “Daddy did it!! Daddy did it!! I knew Daddy could do it…he got us to Ramstein!!” And then when they made it home, Keith said he was met again with enthusiastic exclamations of “Daddy did it!! We’re back at Baumholder! Yay!! Daddy did it!!”

This was a very productive start to our move, with times of laughter brought by our precious children. I am so thankful for them and their appreciation for and the joy they find in life!

I hope to write more about what an overseas move with the Army entails. As you can imagine, it is a lot of work and takes a lot of organization. The next two weeks will be incredibly busy, but then we should slow down a bit until our flight home. Now that will be interesting!

Note: This post is being linked to Tackle it Tuesday at 5 Minutes for Mom because starting this move is my biggest tackle yet!