In April, I worked my last day of my career in national security/government contracting to fulfill my dream of focusing on my husband and my kids. Long before we were married, Ryan and I discussed our joint desire to be able to reach a point of financial security to allow me to stay home with our future children. Being a military family comes with many challenges and I wanted to be as present as possible in our children’s lives. While I commend dual military families and those with multiple careers (seriously, that’s tough work to balance it all!), I always knew it wasn’t for me.
Often, reality can feel different from our dreams. Since that time i’ve struggled to find my identity beyond being a wife and a mother. We often find our self-worth within our career or chosen profession, and all of my dreams have or are coming true. But was this enough? Society often pushes us to “want more” for ourselves and that we should strive to have it all: the husband, the kids, the top of a corporation…and the white picket fence. Was it okay to “just” be a wife and a mom? Could I REALLY be the driving force behind my family?
What if it’s OKAY that my role IS to be a military spouse and a mom? What if that is my calling and my “mission field”? I know that God is using me to encourage and lift up/support my husband as he serves our Country. I know that God is using me to be engaged in our children’s lives and to set the example. And I know that He is going to use me to pour back into the lives of other military spouses and families. How will my mindset change and what more can I do if I transform my thoughts into THIS being my calling? God has called my heart since I was a young girl and wanted to marry a soldier and to stay in the only life I ever knew.
What if it’s OKAY that my role IS to be a military spouse and a mom?
I’ve recently joined a book discussion group with a friend that started it in her home and we are diving into the book “Wife of a Soldier, a Journey of Faith” and today I had the great pleasure of meeting the author. It’s been speaking to my heart and I highly recommend reading it, no matter your situation as a military spouse. Diana Jeurgens describes how God has called each of us to this role for a reason. It’s no mistake that I grew up wanting this life, that I married Ryan, that these kids were given to us to raise.
This military life can be exciting and stressful, lonely and friendly…it’s all in how we view it. I know that i’ll still be human and have my moments that I hate the separations, deployments, and LATE duty nights…but oh, what a wonderful life this can be as well!
I’m not sure what the distant future holds for our family, but i’m so excited to serve God where He’s placed me for this season. My husband has a very difficult role to play and I know that God has called me to be his supporter and to take care of our life on the home front. I’m anxious to arrive at our next duty station in New York and I already feel led to a few areas of opportunity!
Melissa G.
~Happily Grim~ 