Chatanooga

The past few weeks have been different.  Chris has been different at times, too, I think.  In some ways, she already seems more mature, more confident.  (I can't imagine how much more so she will be after she graduates from boot camp.) She has a plan now, a direction.  It is exciting.  And it is bittersweet.  Our time with her is short.  Of course we will see her... but it will be different.  Our child is becoming an adult.  She will be out in the world, off on her own, and life... changes.

All of us ~ Chris, Ro, me, family and friends ~ all of us believe 100% this is a great thing.  Chris would be working in the intelligence field, and it would be highly unlikely she would ever see combat.  What more does a parent wish for their child than their safety first and foremost? 

And then, Chatanooga.

There are news items every day that make me shake my head, make me long for heaven, make me tired of this world.  At times it is overwhelming and I just shut down.  I stay "just informed enough" by reading headlines.  But sometimes you can only bury your head in the sand for so long.  Other things happen.  Things that break your heart.  Things that hit close to home.  Things that jar you back to reality.

Like Chatanooga.

The fact that it was our military that was attacked.

The fact that it was on American soil, in a typical American city.

The fact that it was at a recruiting center.

It's hitting too close to home.  It sickens me.

Chris meets with her recruiters weekly for check-ins, physical training, etc.  Last week they couldn't meet at the office.  They couldn't wear their Navy t-shirt and hats and such when they got together.  It's that reality check that sucks sucks sucks.

Lord, what is going on? 

 

Petty officer Randall Smith, USN

Staff sergeant David Wyatt, USMC

Gunnery sergeant Thomas Sullivan, USMC

Lance Corporal Squire K ("Skip") Wells, USMC

Sergeant Carson Holmquist, USMC

Thank you for your service.

 http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/17/us/chattanooga-tennessee-marines-killed/

 

Seeing God in this

Once in awhile, God will give me a little aha! moment that will serve to confirm something to me, to help me understand something, or help me see Him a little more clearly.

I had two of those moments recently that I believe showed me how God has been directing this child's life to move in this direction for years now, even though joining the military had never before even crossed our minds.

Not too long after Chris took that DLAB, I was thinking about it and her aptitude for languages.  I don't know where she picked up such a passion for it, or even when exactly it began.  She began learning Spanish in middle school, so it must have been some time after that when she decided to teach herself Finnish. 

What I was reminded of was that ~ what? ~ 15 years ago, before Christianne even began kindergarten, she had taught herself how to read.  We, of course, taught her letters and sounds, but she is the one who learned to piece together various blends and sounds and she was reading Junie B Jones chapter books before she started school.  That is, she had an aptitude for interpreting alphabet patterns and applying them to language even at that young age.

I know this sounds like all I've done is brag about Christianne.  I really don't mean it that way.  I mean, of course, I am proud, but this is bigger than Christianne's accomplishments.  It shows me that God had a hand in her development for this moment!  It reminds me that God IS in control of it all, that He is sovereign, and that He IS intimately and individually involved in our lives.  It is a gift when he allows us to step back from what is going on around us and see the bigger picture of what HE is doing!

Now the second moment may seem a little silly but it makes my heart smile.

Back in middle school, Chris established her first email account.  She was, momentarily, interested in all things related to the ocean and was thinking one day she might want to be a marine biologist.  She created her account name with a cutesy little middle school flair:  sealifeluvr.  For whatever reason, she has never changed it.  Even though it's spelled like a teeny bopper would spell it.  Even though she has had no desire to go into marine biology for 6 or 7 years now.  All this time she kept her account the same.

So I was thinking the other day about it and about her current path.  The Navy *is* sea life.  Granted, she may not spend much time on the sea given her rate, and it is way too soon to know if she will love it, but it made me smile to think that even though her email name hasn't changed, its meaning sure has.  I hope it's prophetic, too.  I hope it's a sign that she will fall in love with her career and feel blessed and grateful that she has made the decision to become a Sailor.  I hope she will be a true Sea Life Lover.

Oh!  One more thing... remember back when this story began (or at least the Navy portion of Chris's story)?  It started with one short conversation with a woman that I haven't seen since, a conversation that I didn't even think much of at the time.  I couldn't even recall her name for some time.  Look how God's fingerprints are all over this.  It's amazing.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,

plans for welfare and not for evil,

to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11 esv

What she'll do

 

Enlistment Day, June 23, 2015