This is our life

In just the last 24 hours…

In a conversation with a friend, we talked about the two separate times that her husband has been injured this deployment alone due to IEDs. The first time he ended up with shrapnel in his arms…the second he had a head injury and a leg injury. We talked about how they deal with PTSD (from his previous deployment) and the nightmares he has when he is home.

I went to bed last night and dreamed that a young unmarried soldier who works with my husband was killed in action and we were going to his memorial service. Thank God that it was just a dream.

I woke up this morning to read this on the status of a facebook friend: “Seven years ago on this day I married my best friend…four months ago he was taken from me. Today my heart is heavy but I’m comforted in the fact that he is resting in God’s kingdom now and watching over us all. Please take time today to tell the special people in your lives that you love them….”

Later on in the morning I got an email from my husband saying how happy he was to be reacquainted with a soldier friend of his who he hadn’t seen the whole span of this deployment. The bad news? “He is here because he was in a gunners turret when his vehicle flipped and he was almost crushed to death. He ended up just having a messed up shoulder and is doing ok.”

I sat in church and tears fell as a woman sang the song “Blessings”:

We pray for blessings, we pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering

What bothers me the most is not the danger, the sorrow, the suffering, or the pain of it all…but how normal it is to us. This is our life! This is what we deal with all the time.

I don’t write this so that you can feel sorry for us. Military families don’t need or want your pity. We need your prayers. We need your understanding. Sometimes we pull away, because it’s just easier to deal with this stuff in our own military world where everyone gets it. That doesn’t mean that we don’t need you.

My husband will not be a soldier forever, but once he’s out there will be others to take his place. Until Jesus comes these wars won’t end. Soldiers will deploy. Soldiers will die. And the families at home will keep on praying and waiting for those blessed homecoming hugs and kisses.

Keep loving us. Keep praying for us. Keep reaching out. Because this is our life.