The Rollercoaster Life of a Military Wife

Sara, over at Faith at the Front, is hosting a Blog Carnival. The theme for September - The Rollercoaster Life of a Military Wife. When I first heard of it, I jumped right on it not realizing I would be out of town so much and not really writing like I typically do.

Anyways...I still wanted to take just a few minutes to thank Sara for all she does to try to connect other military wives, and for hosting the Blog Carnival, and write for just a few minutes.

I'm thinking back to last summer and how often the twins and I went to Six Flags since we had season passes and it was easy to take the boys there for fun while their dad was away at chaplain training for three months. I didn't want to ride the rollercoasters and end up sick, but I knew it would mean more to the boys if I got on the ride with them rather than wait for them at the end so...I did it. I got on. I rode those crazy rollercoasters until I was green. One particular time we rode the Titan over and over again because there was no one in line. I think I finally cried mercy about round four.

I think the same holds true for us as military wives. We can either tell them we'll meet them at the end of their ride so to speak, or we can jump on the rollercoaster with our spouse. We can fear the unknown so much that we never take the chance to find out it might actually be fun. Choosing to join them on the ride, and looking to make the best of it, can make all the difference in the world. There's no doubt about it - it's going to be a rollercoaster ride. We can look at this ride one of two ways though - this is going to be horrible, OR I know if I go on this with them it's going to be a lot more fun together (...and, sure, I might get a little sick and tired of it every now and then but that smile on their face because I joined them is so worth it!)

If you've read my blog for any length of time, you already know my life as a military wife is a rollercoaster ride. Some days are great, some days aren't so great. I'm pretty sure that's true for all people, in all walks of life though...we just happen to have more potential for a giant change to happen very quickly (like being on the biggest, wildest rollercoaster ever!). It's funny though - as I think about this life, and how different it is from our life just a little over a year ago, I know it is grounded in Jesus Christ, just as it was then, and that there's no place I'd rather be than on this rollercoaster with Him. Only He has the power to keep me seated, or not screaming to get off, when I'm frightened about what's around the corner or on the other side of that great big hill that I can't see.