I haven’t been sleeping well lately. Blame it on being 37 weeks pregnant if you like. I’m sure that has something to do with it. Needless to say, I’ve been waking up every hour or so throughout the night. It’s not much fun, if you ask me. On top of this, my dreams have been very vivid, often involving people I care about. Often these dreams are distressing. I wake up from them with one thought on my mind, prayer.
As a little girl, I would wake up from vivid dreams with a specific person on my mind. Sometimes that person was an immediate friend, other times I hadn’t seen that person in years. Just the same, my mom encouraged me to pray for that person, suggesting that God had placed them on my heart for a reason.
I had a great prayer life as a little girl.
Since then, my prayer life has gone through seasons. As I’ve shared before on this blog, my prayers have been lacking as of late. I’ve gotten rather lathargic, uttering off quick prayers, but not really spending substantial time before the throne of God.
I really think God has been using my restless nights to draw me towards Him once again.
He’s bringing people to mind so that once again I can explore this gift of intercession that has always been upon my heart.
He’s reminding me how wonderful and powerful prayer really is.
He’s using these last weeks of pregnancy, when I’m moving a little slower and not doing as much around the house, to draw me back spiritually to the place I belong. At His feet, day and night, praying for dear ones in my life.
What a wonderful lesson.
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18 NIV).
I may not always like it, but our life together revolves around the military. I may not have chosen this life, but I chose the man, knowing very well what came with the package. I may not understand it, but this life in the military is part of my husband’s calling.
And so I respect the decision he makes, when he goes to work each morning.
I respect the dedication it takes to go work in the strict military environment.
I respect the place God has put us in this life.
I respect my husband’s career, even when I hate that it takes him away from me from time to time.
I respect the military, because I respect my husband.
I respect my husband because that is what Ephesians 5:33 calls me to do: “However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband” (NIV).
And what does respecting our husbands have to do with flexibility, you may be asking by now?
Everything.
I’m flexible because I understand and respect the changing environment of my husband’s job.
I’m flexible because I view the military as part of my husband’s calling.
I’m flexible out of my very love and respect for my husband and his career.
I’m flexible because God gives me the strength to face those tough days.
I’m flexible because I feel that God has called me to be a supportive military wife.
Is flexibility hard for you at times? What specific area do you need God’s help with today?
Lord, please help me to be more flexible when it comes to my husband’s career in the military. Help me to respect him and his calling.
Right now I want to cram every last memory into these final weeks before the deployment. There seems to be a part of me thinks that I’ll stop living while my husband is gone. There will certainly be fewer memories, fewer things to take pictures of. But will life really be on a giant pause while he’s away? Will I seriously sit around and do nothing while he’s gone?
Or will I continue to love every moment of this life God has given me?
Will I sit and home and count the hours until his return, or will I remain involved in my church, my community, my friends, my social groups?
Will I stop exploring and achieving? Or will I continue to search out new things, new ideas?
Will my relationship with God be on hold? Or will I continue to be a willing vessel?
Will my relationship with my husband be on hold? Or will we continue to communicate, growing and changing through this deployment?
I’m finding that I have a choice to make about this next year. I will either chose to survive or thrive.
Consider the definitions of these two words:
Survive: to endure or live through (an affliction, adversity, misery, etc.)
Thrive: to grow or develop vigorously; flourish
Which do you chose? Do you want to survive or thrive in the life God has given you?
The answer, for me, is easy. I want to thrive. I don’t want to just “endure” these coming months, I want to grow and develop and learn and change. I want to come out of the end of this deployment more in love with my God and my husband than ever.
Lord, please help me to thrive and grow in every situation. Help me to live out the words of Ephesians 4:15 which say, “Speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ”(NIV). Help me to grow during this time of deployment and to believe that you are working for the good in this and every situation. As Jeremiah 29:11-12 says, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you’”(NIV). Help me to believe the truthfulness of these words, that you do have great things in store of me, even during this time of deployment. Help me to thrive in this and every situation in life.
