Minus 132 Days - An Ever Present Help

Sometimes, there just aren't any easy answers. Like yesterday, when my Inbox was peppered with emails about the unexpected death of a highschool classmate whose husband found her 'sleeping' but couldn't revive her.

While we're giddy, anticipating Wayne's arrival to Hot Springs tonight, spouses of other returning soldiers are having a tough time, at least as evidenced by recent chat room and blog posts:

"As for me, I’m just waiting on the call from the lawyer’s office to sign the divorce papers. I had a crying spell last night about 4am. I couldn't stop crying…It hurt really bad. I try to keep my mind on other things, but somehow he enters my mind."

"Just trying to get back to some kind of normal here... I would like to say it's easy transitioning back to regular life, but it's not. Hubby is still on active duty since he signed up for a year of work at our armory…It's got my nerves shot totally."

"I'm so tired of things being so dang complicated."

"The last 18 month deployment has altered any sort of sense of time for me. I still feel as though Dear Husband just got back in country some days. Isn't that weird? He will have been home for an entire year in March… I will also admit here, that I am still "tired". He has been home for a year and I am tired from the deployment. That is unlike me."

In your prayers this weekend, please remember our military families who are readjusting to civilian life, wounded service personnel who are recovering, kidnapped journalists like Jill Carroll whose families are praying for her release, as well as all the military folks who still serve around the world on behalf of the United States.

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, Who loved us and gave us everlasting consolation and encouragement and well-founded hope through [His] grace [His empowering presence to equip you to be who you were created to be and to do what you were created to do] comfort and encourage your hearts and strengthen them [make them steadfast and keep them unswerving] in every good work and word.
(2 Thessalonians 2:16-18)

(Photo courtesy of All in a Mouse's Night.)