Good Morning From Afghanistan

Every night when I go to sleep I'm not only excited to finally be pulling up those covers and closing my eyes, but I'm also excited because I know when I wake up I'll have at least one email to read from Richard while I drink my first cup of coffee.

Because he is on the other side of the world, he's awake when I'm asleep, and visa versa. It is not ideal for "live" communication, shall we say, but in return it sort of forces us to make communication a priority, use it wisely and cherish it all the more when we get it.

The two to three lines (which sometimes there are more, but mostly that is all) that  Richard sends my way are some of the best read lines of my day. I love the comfort of them being a part of my routine of the morning.  For me knowing there is that baseline there ... that constant if you will ... is really all I need.

Yesterday, though, I needed more.

Weekends are always harder than the weekdays for me.  Saturdays are tough because those are our late night curl up on the couch and watch random old movies or talk all night long nights.  Sundays are tough because I miss him at church and I miss our afternoon cup of coffee.  This past Sunday it was rainy and I just really had such a stronger longing for Richard to be home than I typically do on most Sundays.  I just couldn't shake the knowledge of his absence.  This bled over into Monday and I think it's safe to say that I pretty much had one of the worst days that I've had in the past ten months.

Richard knew.  He knows me ... and I love that he does.  As a result, I had a day today where he just poured love all over me in every way he could.  I woke up with lots of images from his day ... from where he gets his COJ (cup of joe) to where he does his pull-ups (pull-ups are just sort of a thing for us) to various landmarks at BAF (Bagram Air Field).  He also filled my inbox with emails and links to various articles that caught his eye during the day, commented on my FB wall (maybe only the second time in ten months) and even face-timed me before he went to bed (literally a two minute or less chat as I was on my way out the door for preschool pick up).  Just little things, but things that were so up my alley and collectively priceless.

You know, I don't think he's ever quite done anything like that and it just filled me up all.day.long.

I love my good morning's from Afghanistan.
And I love my soldier, who truly went above and beyond the regular good morning today just covering me with so much love.

If anything, this deployment has taught me to open my eyes to the gifts and provisions around ... they are always there.  I can just get ever so caught up in what I don't have and think I need that I fail to see all that I do.  And even when I do see the blessings I sadly so many times belittle them rather than embrace them.  I am learning to embrace and I am learning to let go.  What a gift to have such a good friend in my husband to help me learn how to do both!

I am so thankful for a God who gives us little bumps along the way to help us grow.  I am thankful for a God who sustains us through those bumps, heals our wounds and makes us stronger in the end than we were before.

Ten months down, just six more to go ...

To God be the Glory,

xoxo

mk