Marriage, Family, & Homeschooling in the Military {Part 3}

Seven days after arriving in North Carolina, tragedy struck again. I was pregnant for the third time and we lost our second baby. It was a hard time for me and my faith in God’s promise for a son. I wish I could say that I just prayed and all the hurt went away, but it DID NOT. I wish I could say that I was over losing the first child, BUT I WAS NOT. The truth is, I was angry. I was sad. I was confused. I was wondering if we should just forget about His promise for a son and move on.  I was beat down, but not willing to completely give up.

This is where the blessing of a godly husband comes into play. He was there for me. Yes, he was hurting too, but he knew that he had to be strong for me during this time. He ministered to my heart by loving Jesus and loving me. My husband blessed me by allowing me to grieve. Allowing me to be angry some days, cry others. He let me heal from the pain so I could be made whole again. And for that, I am forever grateful.

During the next couple of months would come one of the biggest AND best surprises of my life. I would become pregnant with a promise that God gave us 7 years before. The promise of a son. And behold, that promise came forth in early 2007!

“Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.” ~Deuteronomy 7:9 (NIV)

Little did we know, that our promise would come with a challenge, one we met with much sadness. But it had to be done. Just a little over two weeks after our first son, Prince Charming, was born, Michael was off to war again, this time to Afghanistan for a year. As you can imagine, this year was especially tough on our daughter and oldest child, Princess. Not only was she no longer an only child, but her daddy was leaving her for the third time and she was only 5. Homeschooling and baby Prince Charming were the only things that kept both Princess and I afloat that year. Princess and I are in love with learning and this was something that God planned before this time was ever even a thought in our minds. He knew what we’d be facing. And He provided a way of escape.

That year (2007) daddy was gone, was one of the hardest years of my life. Not because everything was bad, but because a lot of growth occurred. As we know, growing is good and necessary, but is not without pain. And this particular time in our lives, there was a lot of pain, met with a lot of hard choices. But the end result was the goodness of God and stronger family bonds with Jesus and one another – and an increased faith in God.

In early 2008, a year after his departure, my husband arrived safely in my arms once again 🙂 The feeling you get when a loved one returns from war is something that is totally indescribable. It is something that never leaves you. 

We had no idea what would happen just days after his return! God is a mighty God and worthy to be praised!


TO BE CONTINUED…..