Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Little Gifts from God

There are moments in life where, if you're like me, you realize God gives you little gifts that brighten your life. It's like moments of sunshine among the clouds.

Every day since our move from Fort Lewis, WA, I wake up to sunshine. It's still odd to me to have every day filled with sunshine instead of wondering if we'll get it or not. That's not really what I'm talking about here though...

I'm talking about the moments when you see the sunshine breaking through the clouds, moments when life's not exactly always what you'd like it to be, but God reminds you that it's still all good, even among the hardship.

If you're in the military, you know what I'm talking about.

This is our third summer in a row to be separated for part of it. I think if I see my husband in the evening at least everything is going to be OK. Coming off a year long deployment, you take what you can get. Can I get a witness?! :) My husband has been in the field throughout the week, and a few weekends, since before summer began. I've complained about it several times...to be honest. Just about every time I complain, God shows me the beauty in what he does, serving his country, and brings a little sunshine my way to keep me smiling.

This week the "sunshine" is one of my dearest friends from WA visiting. She and I became really close friends while our husbands were deployed together. It was the hardest part of moving away from there. She arrived yesterday and will be here for a whole week! :) She's such a blessing to me, and just having her around is wonderful. She was a huge blessing during the deployment as well, and she's now going through that year long deployment again after just having a few months with her husband at home. I don't know how she's doing it and staying sane, but she's a good woman for standing by her man and I applaud her for that.

Some of my other "sunshine" moments:
  • I was complaining one evening to my husband over the phone about having this big, nice garden with all this food and no one home to enjoy it (the twins stayed in Fort Worth from our visit early in June). The next morning I woke up and felt the Lord impress me to make a salad. Most everything was from the garden. See, I was meeting one of his Soldiers who was coming into town to get pizza and meet me to get a cake and cupcakes I had made for them for his assistant's birthday. It was a wonderful treat for the Soldiers, and I was blessed for making it and the sweets.
  • I got to spend a day out in the field with my husband as they had a "family day" last week. It was HOT as could be, but wonderful to see him and the other Soldiers serving their country.
  • I got to spend some time with my family, and allow the twins some extra time at the lake - one of their favorite places to be! (SO happy they will be home tomorrow!! ...I've sure missed them!)
  • Which leads to my next one - I got to spend two weekends, one of those was this last weekend (a 4-day) alone with my husband - the love of my life and very, very best friend! We had a wonderful time relaxing and spending time together. I didn't really want to leave the twins, but they were begging to stay and it ended up being fun for them and some wonderful time alone with my husband.
Sunshine is a wonderful thing! Sometimes there's nothing better than watching it break through the clouds...

1 comment:

Dawn Chandler said...

So glad you got some time with your hubby alone. We are looking forward to our 15th anniversary weekend next month without the kids!