New Year’s Eve, 2002. Friends from our church snapped a photo of my husband Scott and me together as we prepared to toast in the New Year. And what a year it would be. God was calling Scott to full-time ministry in the U.S. Army as a chaplain, and we were somewhat excited about the new military adventure that lay ahead. But things were heating up in Iraq and our New Year’s celebration was tainted with a bit of anxiety as we faced impending deployment and many unknowns.
While Scott served in the National Guard, I was accustomed to him being gone one weekend a month, and one month in the year, but the army? I knew nothing about the army. How long would Scott be deployed? Would there be chemical weapons involved? One thing I was certain of was that in three months I was going to be delivering our third child, and my husband was not going to be present.
My mother-in-law kept me occupied on the day of Scott’s departure. On the second day of deployment, one of our church friends brought us lunch and stayed to eat with us. Evidence of God’s provision continued to show through his children: prayers, meals, companionship, childcare, and other gestures of support and encouragement.
In mid-March the invasion into Iraq began, and with parting words of love, encouragement, and prayers for my husband, I wrote “Know that we will be fine… don’t worry about us. You know that so many people are caring for us here.”
I was raised to be independent and help myself, so it was awkward to receive the extra attention. Being on the receiving end was hard to swallow. I did not want to be portrayed as needy or helpless. But when I look back at our first deployment, I fondly recall what it truly feels like to experience Christian community. We were surrounded by people who loved us and cared about us. God used his church and our family to tangibly embrace us during those uncertain months.
Lord, help me be humble enough to allow others to serve me when I need it.
“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2)