God's Direction and our friend Daniel
Saturday night, I had a conversation with Derick. I have been amazed at this deployment so far, that neither of us has been angry or resentful at the other person.
Not at all!
Even on those days that I felt frozen in my tracks, clueless when it came to preparations.
Sure, there were things that we could have done for each other to make life easier for this separation. But, so far, we seem to have taken it all in stride. This is the fourth time Derick has been gone for an extended period of time. And by extended, I mean more than 3 or 4 weeks. The shortest time that he was gone, has been 5 months for boot camp and A school. The longest was his deployment to Afghanistan for 11 months.
This time he'll be gone for about 10 months. Or at least that's what his orders say. His deployments have never actually ended up the same as what the original orders say. Its like waiting on a baby to be born on the due date... its pretty rare..
Anyway, our conversation went something like this:
Me:
I love you!
I love you in the Navy!
I love that you want to serve and protect!
I love that you are my protector and provider!
No matter what happens in the next year, I know that God is the one that has ordered our steps.
No matter what, I know we are right where we need to be.
No matter what, I am so proud of you!
No matter what, none of that is going to change!
Him:
Thanks baby! I appreciate that!
Last week, Derick texted me at work. He said I needed to call him right away, it was an emergency. I could not for the life of me figure out what would be such an emergency! But I called and he told me about the marines that went missing close to Japan. And then he told me one of the marines is our friend, Daniel. I was stunned! Everyone connected to the military knows that things like this are possible. Faces of service members come through the news feed on social media or appear on the nightly news and we think, that poor family! But the very next [subconscious] thought is, but that won't happen to us.
But it did happen.
I feel like I've been walking through mud this week. Everything takes a little more effort. I miss Derick's presence just a little bit more. I need just a little extra motivation to get things done.
Saturday night I drove a group of kids to the Cabin Ministry in Tremont. And I decided that I couldn't drive all the way to Tremont and not stop to see my friend, Elizabeth, Daniel's mom. Society and even church would tell you that you need to take something with you when you visit someone during hard times. But I remember 2 years ago when my brother in law died. It didn't matter if someone brought a casserole. And the same applies to Derick's absence today. It doesn't matter if someone gets me a cup of coffee. It matters that they are present. It matters that I'm not alone in this hard time.
So I went empty handed.
I was greeted with open arms and smiles through tears. And she said, "Oh Leslie, can you believe it?"
No, I can't...
At my job, I talk to people trying to make big decisions about health insurance. Some of them are facing real crises. And sometimes I say, ya know... we serve a really big God. And he already has this situation under control. He already has a plan. None of this is a surprise to him. He is not up in heaven, wringing his hands, saying, "How did this happen?!"
Sometimes I preface it with, "I know this might sound cliche..." And maybe it does.
But it doesn't make it any less true. And that's what prompted my conversation with Derick. On the way home from Duane and Elizabeth's house, I called Derick. I needed him to know, that even if he was the sailor that the US Navy and the Japanese Coast Guard was looking for, all of those things are still true. There are no regrets and no resentments. God still sits on the throne. God still directed our steps, as he did Daniel's.
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