#2. Is going back in the Army Rob’s dream job?
A. Not exactly. He loves his country more than anyone I’ve ever known, but as much as he wants to serve, this is not his idea of a dream job at this stage in life. That, my friends, would be living in the islands running a scuba diving shop, going out on the boat each day, and teaching people how to dive….with me by his side, of course.
Since before we got married, we knew that someday we wanted to own a dive shop together, preferably in the Caribbean islands. We never knew when we could make it happen, but that was the dream. The dream has not died, but we have surrendered it to the Lord. If it is God’s will for us to do that someday, then we will. But we’ve had to realize that this is just not the time for that. The Lord has called us to other things (first Foster Care, then the Army) that just don’t allow for fantasy dreams like running off to the islands and buying a dive shop. Maybe someday. After all, he could retire in 13 years from the Army, and we’d still have plenty of life left. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.
There is nothing wrong with chasing a dream. However, we are teaching our daughter that obedience to God comes first. If His dreams for us, match our dreams for us, then great….but often they don’t.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)
Emily came to her Daddy at some point not long after we told her what was happening, and they had this conversation:
E: “Do you want to go to the Army?”
Hubby: “Yes, I do”
E: “No, I mean, would you go to the Army if you could do anything you wanted and God didn’t tell you to do that? If He let you do whatever you wanted?”
Hubby: “Honestly, no..”
E: “What would you do”?”
Hubby: “ I would teach scuba all the time.”
What better lesson than for our little girl to know that Daddy is obeying God? Denying our own desires to serve Him. She will see the blessings in that.
#3. He won’t have to go to the war, will he? / You know there is a war going on over there, don’t you?
A. Yes, he will almost certainly have to go to the war. Unless something really big changes in the very near future, he will be going at some point. They almost all do. It’s his duty. And I’ll let you in on a secret. He *wants* to go. He’s trained for it. He wants to serve his country. He wants to help. It’s like training for a big race, but not being able to compete. No matter how hard that is for the rest of us to understand, these soldiers want to do their part.
#4. Will you have to live in Iraq? / They are going to take him over there for 2 years and you’ll never see him! / You can’t take Emily “over there”!
A. No. They will NOT move our family to Iraq. We will be stationed somewhere either in the U.S. or one of the Army posts overseas (like Italy, or Germany). Our family will live on or near an Army post and have a home. At some point, when he deploys, he would go away for about a year. We would not go with him, nor could we even visit him – it’s a warzone. We would communicate via email, phone, and webcam (The wonders of the internet!! So thankful to live in this decade!).
#5. Then where will you be living?
A. We don’t know yet. Toward the end of his 5 months of training, he will get orders and find out where he will be stationed. At that time, we will prepare to PCS (Permanent Change of Station….otherwise known as “move”) to our new home.
#6. What will you do while he’s gone? (He will be gone for 5 months training)
A. The same things I do when he’s here. I will take care of the home, and the kids. I will do laundry, dishes, cook meals, and homeschool my daughter. We will go on field trips, nature walks, and maybe even some road trips to see friends. Occasionally, we’ll stay up late watching movies and eating popcorn just for fun. I will get more sewing and scrapbooking done in the evenings.
#7. How do you feel about this?
I’m excited about the adventure. I’m nervous about the unknowns. I’m proud of my husband. I’m dependent on the Lord to guide us. You’ve heard it said many times that “it is what you make of it”, and I intend to make the best out of it. I know that my faith will grow through this journey. It already has. I’ll let you in on a secret about me….I’m a little bit of a control freak. Oh, you already knew that? Well, at first it drove me crazy not knowing where we are going to live. How can I research it? How can I look up what stores are there, what houses look like? But you know what? The closer we get to this, and the more I realize how little chance I have at controlling any of it, the easier it’s becoming. Now I’m actually looking forward to the surprise. I know I have a lot to learn as I venture into the Army life, and I’m looking forward to it.
It is also absolutely critical for me to have a good attitude about all this. Our daughter’s attitude about this will mimic my own. If I complain about her Daddy being gone, then she will learn to resent that. If I talk about how proud I am of him, how hard he’s working for us, and continue to be strong as I look at all the silver linings, then she will learn how to do that too.