Prayers Please

Even though it is hard because Chris is a couple of states away and we have two children 4 and under and our third on the way, we are one of the more blessed families. I miss Chris so much every day and so do the kids. He is the completion of me. One of the biggest blessings about this school though is I can talk to him every day.

Chris’s cousin Johnathan just deployed to Afghanistan as I have mentioned a couple of times before. Crystal is Johnathan’s wife and just happens to be my best friend. She is also pregnant and they have 3 other children under 8. She is not so blessed to get to talk to him every day. It is only a few minutes at a time and every 2-3 days.

For those of you who have never had a spouse to go away from you for an extended period of time, I will fill you in on how Crystal and I react to our situations. We will plan our entire day around the phone calls we get with our husbands. We know approximately when we will get to talk to them and even try to plan ahead for the unexpected but very welcomed surprise phone calls. Well, this morning Crystal was delivering some food to her Dad’s house because her stepmom has been very ill. She walked into the house and came back out only to see that she had just missed a phone call from Johnathan by 1 minute. Imagine how she felt. She cannot call international on her cell phone and tried to call her provider’s customer service line only to learn they were closed today. Needless to say, she was very upset. I felt so badly for her because I know how I would feel if I missed one of Chris’s calls.

I guess my whole point is to ask everyone to remember this family and all the other military families in your prayers. Think of the husbands, wives, children and even the tiny babies who deal with this situation. They need strength, love, and encouragement. They need your prayers.

Just from my short time being away from Chris, the kids have changed and acted out so much more since he has been gone. They know something is missing and their way of dealing with it is acting out more and being more aggressive. I think Crystal would agree that hers have done the same thing since Johnathan has been gone. This in turn adds more stress to the mothers, especially the worn out and tired pregnant mothers, and makes for a more difficult experience. Crystal and I were just talking today about how God has put the two of us together because He knew we needed each other. Out of a 45 minute phone conversation between the two of us, about 35 minutes of that is the two of us screaming at our kids, but we draw strength from it knowing the other is going through a similar situation.

So please, when you do say your prayers, remember Crystal and Johnathan and their family, Chris and me and our family, and the other military families. We all need it, even if we tell you we are fine.

Love you all!