“The American Dream is made up of many elements, not the least of which is wanderlust. Our country was founded and populated by generations of people searching for new experiences and filled with curiosity about what could be seen on the other side of the mountain.” -Melissa Chewning
My mom wrote this in an album dedicated to my dad after they drove from Stone Mountain, Georgia to the West coast in 1985. I made this trip with them (my mom was a few months pregnant with me), and I am amazed that I will be making a similar trip in just a few days- this time as an adult with my own husband, and this time with no intention of turning around when we hit the Pacific.
It is a surreal and incomprehensible idea, leaving your home. I’ve been away from my husband for five months now, with most everything that I own either in storage or being lived in by strangers. This makes my upcoming trip to rejoin my other half seem more like a homecoming than a move away. But I still can’t get my head around leaving my friends and family and the city that I’ve known since birth.
David and I have always struggled with The American Dream- what it is, why we fight for it, why we want out once we get there. I will say that my mom nailed it with the “wanderlust” idea; I think The American Dream ends when you achieve it. When you can dream and hope and plan… that is The American Dream. That’s what is amazing about America- that you can dream.
I am surrounded by a group of friends and family here that do nothing but encourage me to dream. And as we move three time zones west, we know that nothing will change about these relationships but the circumstances. These are relationships are rooted in something stronger than the Navy and larger than 2000 miles. They are rooted in Christ.
So I will leave the South tomorrow to see what’s on the other side of the mountain. And while we are excited to fight for a country that fosters dreaming and while we are enthralled with the wonder of this adventure, we rest in the comfort of knowing that no mountain can separate us from what we have here at home.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
NEW Address
Here is David's new address. He can now get packages, so I'm sure he'd appreciate any snack food, magazines or books, etc. Or just an encouraging note!
SN Murray, David T E3
320A Dewey Avenue
TSC/BEQ 534 Room #104
Great Lakes, IL 60088
SN Murray, David T E3
320A Dewey Avenue
TSC/BEQ 534 Room #104
Great Lakes, IL 60088
Graduation
David is officially a SAILOR! He graduated from bootcamp on Wednesday November 26, and we got to spend the remainder of the week together. He will stay in Chicago for another 12 weeks (but will be HOME for Christmas!!), and then it's hopefully off to San Diego...
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Last Letter
This time next week I will be in Chicago with David!
I got his last set of letters today, and I thought his last letter in particular was quite amazing. It's long, but it's worth reading. His wisdom is incredible, and I am so thankful that his time in basic has been spiritually fruitful if nothing else!
November 16
"I was praying this morning while taking a shower (which is the best part of the day), and I realized the summary of the whole military experience up to this point. Paul talks about how our lives are not our own. I think this is the key to everything. Oswald Chambers also talks about this same topic a lot too. Most of my time I worry about what I think is best or what I want for our life. However I don't think this is the right mindset to have. Our lives no longer belong to us. We must submit to the plan God has set before us. This does not necessarily mean God doesn't care what we want. In fact, our lives ultimately are far better off in Christ.
The vital thing to remember is that it may not be easy, but we must let our lives be run by God. It makes it difficult to try and figure out what we should do next, if all we have to go on is what is best or what we "want" to do. Inevitably we will choose the easiest route if left to ourselves. However when we must make decisions but we do it with the larger picture of God's plan in mind, it becomes clearer not easier. Often this requires a lot of sacrifice. Think about it like this: Is God's plan really so small that it is deterred because I get homesick? I doubt it. Instead I think God will grant the strength to accomplish His plan.
This whole concept is something I really struggle with. It is very hard to submit my entire life to God. It is risky to lay our life out there for God to do with what He wants.
Sometimes I feel like our situation is similar to Jonah's in the Old Testament. God has called us to do something that at this point I don't "want" to do. So we could run away from it. However in the long run Jonah running off did not pay off. Short term he didn't have to do what God asked, but the result was that he brought calamity to himself and those around him. The better thing is to be obedient from the start.
I feel like we have just walked through a dark time, and now I am praying that we will come out of it soon. God breaks us to help us learn. It is necessary, but I am ready for us to be restored. As long as I am at bootcamp (away from you) I will be broken, but when we see each other again restoration can begin. So that is my prayer, that God will start the re-building process. That way we are full of strength to take on the next challenge."
I got his last set of letters today, and I thought his last letter in particular was quite amazing. It's long, but it's worth reading. His wisdom is incredible, and I am so thankful that his time in basic has been spiritually fruitful if nothing else!
November 16
"I was praying this morning while taking a shower (which is the best part of the day), and I realized the summary of the whole military experience up to this point. Paul talks about how our lives are not our own. I think this is the key to everything. Oswald Chambers also talks about this same topic a lot too. Most of my time I worry about what I think is best or what I want for our life. However I don't think this is the right mindset to have. Our lives no longer belong to us. We must submit to the plan God has set before us. This does not necessarily mean God doesn't care what we want. In fact, our lives ultimately are far better off in Christ.
The vital thing to remember is that it may not be easy, but we must let our lives be run by God. It makes it difficult to try and figure out what we should do next, if all we have to go on is what is best or what we "want" to do. Inevitably we will choose the easiest route if left to ourselves. However when we must make decisions but we do it with the larger picture of God's plan in mind, it becomes clearer not easier. Often this requires a lot of sacrifice. Think about it like this: Is God's plan really so small that it is deterred because I get homesick? I doubt it. Instead I think God will grant the strength to accomplish His plan.
This whole concept is something I really struggle with. It is very hard to submit my entire life to God. It is risky to lay our life out there for God to do with what He wants.
Sometimes I feel like our situation is similar to Jonah's in the Old Testament. God has called us to do something that at this point I don't "want" to do. So we could run away from it. However in the long run Jonah running off did not pay off. Short term he didn't have to do what God asked, but the result was that he brought calamity to himself and those around him. The better thing is to be obedient from the start.
I feel like we have just walked through a dark time, and now I am praying that we will come out of it soon. God breaks us to help us learn. It is necessary, but I am ready for us to be restored. As long as I am at bootcamp (away from you) I will be broken, but when we see each other again restoration can begin. So that is my prayer, that God will start the re-building process. That way we are full of strength to take on the next challenge."
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
T Minus Two Weeks
I missed a phone call from David on Saturday (I wasn't expecting one, and I was right in the middle of photographing a wedding ceremony, so I didn't even check the phone). I was pretty devastated when I realized what happened until I learned that when he couldn't get in touch with me, he called his dad. Bill is having heart surgery on Thursday, and that's actually why David called- David told his superiors that his dad was sick (we had vaguely written about it in our letters) and that he needed to call. So, we're thankful that God had his hand in working that out for us.
I DID get to talk to him yesterday for a bit though! (He said that he thought there was a problem with the bank account and that he needed to call home... which, he actually did think there was a problem... even though there wasn't :) He's doing well. Only two more weeks from today until he graduates!
Also, a sweet girl named Becca runs a website for Military Wives where she sells her art and encourages the military community. She is starting a new branch of the website called Glam Gals where she profiles "inspiring military wives" and she asked me to be the first interview. I am totally honored to be called a military wife (that was the first time it hit me that I actually am one now!) and am so humbled to even be considered for this. Here's the article/interview if you're interested:
Glam Gals
If you have a chance, be sure to get your letters into David asap! Only a few more days left! He says that the letters are what sustains him.
I DID get to talk to him yesterday for a bit though! (He said that he thought there was a problem with the bank account and that he needed to call home... which, he actually did think there was a problem... even though there wasn't :) He's doing well. Only two more weeks from today until he graduates!
Also, a sweet girl named Becca runs a website for Military Wives where she sells her art and encourages the military community. She is starting a new branch of the website called Glam Gals where she profiles "inspiring military wives" and she asked me to be the first interview. I am totally honored to be called a military wife (that was the first time it hit me that I actually am one now!) and am so humbled to even be considered for this. Here's the article/interview if you're interested:
Glam Gals
If you have a chance, be sure to get your letters into David asap! Only a few more days left! He says that the letters are what sustains him.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Quotes
I received my second stack of "David letters" on Thursday, and I thought I'd share some of his wisdom...
"I really think this basic training is not so much preparing me for the Navy as it is a spiritual preparation. I am learning to lean not on my own understanding, but instead just give glory to God in everything that I do." -Oct 15
And this is a short poem he wrote in the middle of one letter:
"Our roots reach deep,
no storm nor drought,
nor wind nor hail,
can loose what God planted."
He also talked about how so many guys there are homesick for a place that doesn't exist- they don't have great homes to return to. He talks a lot about how thankful he is for the support we have, and he says that while he knows that he has people praying for him, he knows that for a lot of these guys, he's the only one praying for them. So he asks that we think about the other guys in his division and lift them up as well as we pray for David's strength and health.
These letters are SO much fun- I get them every Thursday (a week's worth all bundled into one or two envelopes!)
"I really think this basic training is not so much preparing me for the Navy as it is a spiritual preparation. I am learning to lean not on my own understanding, but instead just give glory to God in everything that I do." -Oct 15
And this is a short poem he wrote in the middle of one letter:
"Our roots reach deep,
no storm nor drought,
nor wind nor hail,
can loose what God planted."
He also talked about how so many guys there are homesick for a place that doesn't exist- they don't have great homes to return to. He talks a lot about how thankful he is for the support we have, and he says that while he knows that he has people praying for him, he knows that for a lot of these guys, he's the only one praying for them. So he asks that we think about the other guys in his division and lift them up as well as we pray for David's strength and health.
These letters are SO much fun- I get them every Thursday (a week's worth all bundled into one or two envelopes!)
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Communication
Talk about a good weekend. I received my first stack of letters from David on Friday. I got about 10! He had been stock-piling until mail day (they can only send mail once a week). AND- I got a phone call from him yesterday! We got to talk for about 30 minutes, which was huge. He is doing well, but definitely misses home.
He talked about how he likes a lot of the guys in his division and how his good friends Nathan somehow ended up in his class. He said he’s goofy looking with his new haircut- he even drew me a picture. They aren’t doing physical training as much as he would like, but he hears it will pick up this week. He says the days go by slow by the weeks go by fast. And he says the food is pretty good. ☺
He is graduating on Wednesday November 26- the day before Thanksgiving. I’ll be able to go up to Chicago that week and stay until Sunday. Then he has to return to base for eight more weeks of training (ugh!) BUT- he’ll have liberties on the weekend and on nights, so he can call and I can visit. We are also pretty sure he can come home for Christmas.
His address changed back to the original one (no clue why)- so check below for the new correct address if you need it. David says the letters mean everything to him!
He asks that we pray for no injuries or sickness, as that will delay the process. I’ll keep you updated!
He talked about how he likes a lot of the guys in his division and how his good friends Nathan somehow ended up in his class. He said he’s goofy looking with his new haircut- he even drew me a picture. They aren’t doing physical training as much as he would like, but he hears it will pick up this week. He says the days go by slow by the weeks go by fast. And he says the food is pretty good. ☺
He is graduating on Wednesday November 26- the day before Thanksgiving. I’ll be able to go up to Chicago that week and stay until Sunday. Then he has to return to base for eight more weeks of training (ugh!) BUT- he’ll have liberties on the weekend and on nights, so he can call and I can visit. We are also pretty sure he can come home for Christmas.
His address changed back to the original one (no clue why)- so check below for the new correct address if you need it. David says the letters mean everything to him!
He asks that we pray for no injuries or sickness, as that will delay the process. I’ll keep you updated!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)