Resolution for a Change

I don’t much believe in making New Year’s resolutions. It seems to me like they are made and last for maybe two months max. Many never make it past a week into the New Year. Last year, things were set into motion that indirectly caused me to have to make a resolution for this year. The resolution: Accept the change that will come.

The first factor to play into this resolution was the issuance of my shore duty orders to Pensacola, Florida. For the past eleven years, Chesapeake, Virginia has been home. In those eleven years, we have made many friends that I would consider to be as close as family. We were also blessed with Isaac (our miracle child). Jacob has grown from a little boy into a young man. Now the time has come for an intermission concerning that part of our lives. I don’t want to say that this chapter of our lives is ending. I would rather think of it as we are taking a short three year hiatus. I know that things will certainly change during the three years we are away, but I do truly hope that we will return to Chesapeake. We are going to make the most of our time in Florida. Both mine and Kris’ families will be closer, so we will have opportunity to spend more time with them. This change in our lives will be both happy and sad. I have already had to deal with the bittersweet feelings involved with this move. Sadness and disappointment mixed with excitement characterize my feelings.

The next thing that has influenced this resolution is the fact that Jacob will turn 18 this June. He has already expressed his feelings about the move. He is not one least little bit happy about it. As far as I know, he plans to go down with us until he hits legal adult age. He will then more than likely move back to Virginia to start his own life. This is going to be hard on our entire family. It sounds funny to hear myself talking this way, but I can now empathize with my parents when I got married and moved out. Things around the house just won’t be the same. There will be a void left behind. Even though Jacob doesn’t spend nearly as much time at home as he used to, he is still there almost every night and some during the day. I guess I just worry about him being out on his own. I knew this time would come, but it seems like it has come a lot faster than I anticipated. The one solace I have about this situation is that God will take care of him.

Finally, the leadership change for our wonderful country promises many changes as well. I just pray that God’s Will be done during this time. I understand that free will plays a role in our lives. Free will is the reason Adam and Eve fell. I still believe that even though we as humans have the “gift” of free will, things are going to work out according to God’s bigger plan. “Everything happens for a reason”, this is the phrase that I keep telling myself. I do not believe that God has abandoned us. I think that he may use this time to build up his believers to stand strong for what is both morally and spiritually right. I don’t want to sound like an End Times prophet, but I do feel like there is going to be a real big change coming in the not so distant future. It is just a feeling that I get. I am thinking it could possibly be due to all the change that I am dealing with currently.

Change is a normal and everyday occurrence in life. How we adapt to that change is different for each situation. I personally do not like change. I am a true creature of habit, and change causes me to have to get out of my comfort zone. I know that God has used change in my life to mature my faith in the past. I am looking at my current situation as one of those times. Therefore, I am resolving this New Year to accept the change that has been introduced into my life. I hope that all of you will join me in this endeavor. Look for the change that God brings into your lives and accept it.

Christmas Wishes

I felt like I should do a post for Christmas. Since my last post nothing new has developed. Things are still moving along at what most days seems like a snail's pace. The days seem to drag by, but as the Tracy Lawrence song goes, "Time marches on." This part of the deployment can sometimes be the hardest. The last couple of months always seem to take forever. On the same note, time really is moving along at the same pace it has for the rest of the deployment, but it just feels to have slowed to a creep.

As the title of this post says, I would like to list out a few of my Christmas wishes. First off, I hope that everyone back home will have a wonderful Christmas with family and friends. Make sure to make the most of your time together. You don't realize how much you miss it until you are not there to experience it. I have always loved the Christmas season. I really enjoy being around my family and friends for the holidays. Living in VA has kind of hampered the family thing except for the holidays. We always make the annual trip to GA for the holidays, and I look forward to it every year.

My second wish is for all of the troops deployed around the world to return home to their families. I know that this is not a wish that will come true in the near future. I just pray that there will come a time when all of our military men and women don't have to be separated for the holidays. I think they should just suspend whatever conflict is going on for about a month to let all our folks in uniform be home for Christmas. That sounds reasonable, right?

Well, I hope that all of you reading this have a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!! Once again, please say a little prayer for all of us deployed around the world.

Back to Reality!

This is going to be a quick one. I just wanted to let everyone know that I am back on the other side of the world safely. My time here grows shorter day by day. Not too much longer before I am back with Kris and the boys. Leave was a great experieince. I came back here feeling refreshed and ready to knock out the short time left. After my return, we have to finish preparing for the move in March. Fun stuff!! (That statement is dripping with sarcasm!) I look forward to seeing everyone upon my return. Thank you all once again for your prayers and support.

A Well Deserved Break!

It has been quite a while since my last post. Things had gotten pretty mundane over in the land of sand, sun and stinky smells. I am now winding up my two weeks of mid tour leave. I leave again tomorrow to head back to my reality for the next three months. Leave has been awesome. I spent as much time as possible with Kris and the boys. I have truly enjoyed my time here at home. It was so wonderful to see our extended "family" as well.

The time has passed quickly, but it has still been great. You truly don't appreciate all the creature comforts afforded yourself as a citizen of this great country, until you spend some time on the other side. One of the best things about being home (except being with my family which always ranks number one) is the fact that my bathroom is in my bedroom. I didn't have to go outside in the middle of the night when the urge hit me. I didn't have to walk fifty yards to get to the shower. It was wonderful. Things we as Americans take for granted everyday are often appreciated anew when we are separated from them for a period of time. We should all thank God everyday for the things we are blessed with here.

Tomorrow is my reality check. I fly back to Atlanta and then back across the Atlantic. The good thing about this is that the longest part of this deployment is complete. I have only a short time left to finish. I can now start to focus on our move to Florida upon my return. I know that many of you were disappointed to hear about this, but Kris and I trust that this is in God's plan for us. Please keep us in your prayers. If everything works out the way I think it will, we should be back here in a short three years. Meanwhile, this move offers us the opportunity to be closer to family. This is a great thing for our boys and their grandparents. I feel bad sometimes, because they don't get to see their grandparents as often as I did as a kid. I guess sometimes change is a good thing.

I hope to keep you all updated more often. I appreciate all of you that take the time to read my thoughts. Thank you for the support you have given my family and me during this time. God bless you all. I hope that every one has a great Christmas and a wonderful New Year!!

Roommate

Well, several things have changed for me since my last post. The main one is I now have a roommate. I guess it is not too bad having someone else in the room. My Army counterpart has moved in with me. He has been living here for almost a month now.

It was nice to have the room to myself for the first three months of the deployment. I was priveledged to have that amount of time. None of the Army guys my rank get rooms to themselves. There is very limited room for housing here. Some of the guys are placed three to four to a room. We are lucky to only have two.

Anyway, things are still going good here on the other side of the world. Things have still been busy for me here. I have several goals to get accomplished. Some personal and some jobwise. Progress is being made on both fronts.

As always, I ask for you to remember our troops in your prayers. Being here has opened my eyes to how much we need those prayers going up on our behalf. Things can get pretty hectic over here. Just knowing that the folks back home are thinking of us helps a lot.

Well, I am going to sign off for now. Take care of yourselves. God keep you and bless you all.