Monday, February 16, 2009

Confessions Of A Soon To Be Military Wife

For a long time I have had it on my heart to write to people about the military and military families. I have heard many military families wish that civilians understood better what military life is and what military families and personnel go through.

Before my fiancĂ© went into the Air Force I knew nothing about the military. I didn’t know about the life, the war, the hardships and trials. I didn’t even want to think about it. It was just something I had sort of blocked out my mind. When he joined the Air Force and became a military man, it became something I had to face and think about.

When coming to terms with his decision, I decided that I was going to do everything I could to learn about the Air Force and the military in general. I read books and articles, talked to mothers with sons in the military, talked to military wives, and girlfriends. I found that there was a whole different sort of life that others may not know of or even think about on a daily basis.

Do you know what is like for a mother to goodbye to her son again as he goes off into one of the most dangerous parts of Iraq? Do you know of the sleepless nights, the tears, and the many prayers? She carries her phone with her everywhere never knowing when he will call, and how long she will be able to talk with him, and not knowing when she will hear from him again.

What about the little girl who never sees her daddy because he has been gone for over a year in Iraq? She refuses to talk with him when he calls because she thinks it’s just too sad and she misses him so much. The pictures she draws for him and the little letters she writes break his heart. He has only been there for a few months of her whole life, because of his job.

Then there is the military wife. She waits for phone calls, and writes him letters twice a day. She never knows if she will hear from her husband tomorrow or maybe not for two months. The lonely nights, the saddened days, and the waiting, it all comes with the job. Learning to do everything for herself because he is not there to help her. She gets calls at 4 AM because in Iraq it is the middle of the day and it is the only time he has to call.

These people need our prayers, they need to know we support them, love them, and are always there for them. You may think it’s not your job to understand, but it is everyone’s responsibility to know and to acknowledge. People are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan for your freedom and just because you may not hear about it every day does not mean it does not happen. These people need you to understand their lives and their jobs and support them.. There are little things that people all over the world are doing to help support the military families and soldiers that need our support. What will you do to help? Harsh? No, that's reality.

It’s something people don’t realize and don’t stop to think about. I never did. Will you?
So my question to you is, what are you doing to help?

As Christians would should we be doing to help?

Written by: Kathryn