My son decided in October to pursue one of his boyhood dreams to enter the military. He decided to Go Army instead of the Air Force like his dad. Military life was always good to us through Bob's twenty years but I was surprised how hard it was for me to trust God with Russell in the Army. He shipped out last Monday to Ft. Leonard Wood in Missouri. His wife got one brief call on Tuesday evening just to say he was there and alive. This is my child who was very clingy as a baby, was inconsolable in the nursery (so I spent a lot of time in the nursery during his first years of life), cried so much in preschool that the teacher advised me to wait a year and give him some time which did not work as he cried every morning from Kindergarten to end of Second Grade, he went to NOC for his first two years of college because he was not ready to leave home, he practically lived at home and commuted to OSU his first semester there because he did not like being away from home, and until he got married he came home almost every weekend. This first week of the Army is the first time in his life that he and I have not at least said hi on the phone during the daytime every day. So after years of telling God that Russell belonged to Him and that He should guide Russell to become all God has in mind for Him, now comes the real part - the trust God part. This is when you find out you really can trust God with your children, it is the best option afterall. So this week when my mind wandered off to try to visualize Russell in an Army fatigue standing in a formation, I also did a fair amount of memory lane stuff. This young man in the uniform is the child of my heart, who checks to be sure I am ok, who somehow knows when I need encouragement, the little boy the kindergarten teacher found sitting in the school bathroom crying and singing "Jesus Loves ME" to himself. I am encouraged to know that whatever he is experiencing right now, he knows where his help comes from and how to comfort himself with songs of the Lord. Boy they do grow up fast!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Love your story Debbye. You will have to counsel me when I take my baby girl to junior high next year. I already think waaaay too much about it right now. I don't even want to think about what comes later!
Great story Debbye, we will be keeping Russell and your family in our prayers. I have lots of different family members in the Army & Navy. It's hard but God has kept each and everyone of them safe. May God bless him in his journey to help protect our country.
Big hugs to your family!
Post a Comment