Here we are…21 days away from being an Army family. We’ve spent the last several months telling friends & family about our upcoming adventure. Over & over we’ve heard some of the same questions, so I thought I would address them here. Please post any additional questions you have, and I’ll be happy to answer them.
I’m starting with the big question, and in other posts, I’ll address others.
#1. Why are you going into the Army?
A. The simple answer is because God called us to. I’ll expand on that a bit, though.
Let me back up a bit…about 3 years ago, we felt a pull to join the Army. It just sorta came up one day, probably as we were once again discussing our desire to live somewhere else for a change. See, Hubby had been in the Army before for 7 years, but had been out for about 10. I had never been a part of his Army life, as I met him a couple years after he got out. When he was in, he was able to live in other countries, while I’ve been “stuck” within the same 30 mile radius almost my whole life. I’ve been itching to live elsewhere for ages. As we considered it, we thought it would be a great way to see the world, maybe go to Italy (first for me, again for hubby). However, this thought was short-lived. Hubby looked into rejoining the unit he had been in before, but they were just about to deploy to the war. That meant that even if Hubby got into that unit, which was stationed in Italy, there would not be time for us as a family to move to Italy before he’d be gone. So, we passed on that idea. I mean, no sense signing up for the Army to get to Italy, only to have him deploy right away, and leave me right here at home, right?
Or so we thought.
Last summer, this Army idea came back to us. This time the message was much clearer. And louder. Hubby had just finished the book, “Wild at Heart” by John Eldridge, and I decided to read it too….to learn more about my man. A book I recommend you stay away from if you like the comfortable rut you are living in, by the way. Ha Ha! You know, we make ourselves cozy in those ruts. Seriously, it’s an incredible book that talks about how God made men for adventure, and we as wives are meant to support them, but we often stifle that desire because we want to keep them “safe”. I’m sure none of you do that, but I know I was even uncomfortable when Hubby started riding a motorcycle to work, no matter how much money it was saving us in gas. Yes, he wore a helmet. He’s the safest driver I know. But I was still worried.
As Hubby read this book, the subject of the Army came up again. We talked about the pros and cons. We talked about the age cutoff for him to go back in. We thought the cutoff was 38. Hubby was closing in on that quickly.
Then, the next month, I was in the mountains of Tennessee in a cabin with some girlfriends for the weekend. One of them is an Army wife. I was sharing with her this crazy idea that we had in our heads, I happened to mention that Hubby was just 2 weeks away from passing the age cutoff for rejoining. It was so close that it wasn’t even possible for us to do this crazy thing, right? She then informed me that the cutoff age was 42….not 38.
OH.
You mean, we have 4 YEARS to make this work? It’s actually possible?
One of the days as I was having my quiet time out on the deck, overlooking our breathtaking view, I knew. I just knew. This was where we were heading. This was a big adventure that God had been preparing us for in many ways. I told Hubby as much too. I sent him a text message and said “God told me you need to go back in the Army”. It was time for me to let him live the life that God prepared him to do, and stop keeping him “safe”. After all, he doesn’t belong to me….he belongs to God.
I remember it clearly. I felt God’s voice telling me loud and clear that I needed to support Hubby going back into the Army. I felt it in my heart, and in the pit of my stomach, all at once.
So, once I got home, we prayed about it. And prayed, and prayed. We felt the Lord affirm this for us over and over again through scripture, as we read about Abraham leaving his family and country to obey God. When Jesus tells the disciples to leave everything and follow Him. When He tells them not to look back, but to trust Him and obey.
He also affirmed it for us through our conversations with each other. One thing we’ve learned over the years is that when Hubby and I are on the same page and both feel we should do something that both of us are scared to do, or really don’t want to do….it means we should do it.
We felt a long time ago that God was calling us to do something where we could work with other couples, with families. We’ve been incredibly blessed with a strong marriage that has survived many struggles, and we want to be able to share that with others. This is an opportunity to make friendships and relationships with young couples just starting out, with moms raising their kids alone because Dad is deployed, with couples trying to make their marriage work through hard times, and hopefully to lend a hand however we can.
It’s also a chance to live in new places, see new things, go on adventures, and experience more of the world than we have. Or at least more than I have…Hubby has seen a lot.
….and of course, it’s Hubby’s opportunity to serve our country again, something he is very passionate about.