So I made it to the Her Freedom Radio Show yesterday, despite being besieged with laryngitis (still)! Poor Janna’s audience had to listen to my raspy voice, but we had a good conversation! I was so happy to have my new friend Jenn Showker Lucas come to help me out. She’s a new army wife and very passionate about helping with Wings for Women. She will focus on reaching out to girlfriends and fiance’s of military members so they don’t feel so lost and alone; especially during deployments. Jenn filled in whenever my voice gave out. What a trooper!
We talked about the challenges of military spouses, the joys of being married to the military, and of course about the conference and how we plan to address military spouse issues while giving hope and encouragement in abundance.
I even learned something that morning (something I try to do every day). Jenn gave such a good description of what it’s like for a spouse when the military member is deployed. She said, “It’s like suffering a loss each day.” This is true because each day there are experiences that you don’t share. Each morning there is an empty pillow next to you. Each night there is an empty chair at the table. What an excellent way to describe what we go through! It’s important to recognize that loss so we can acknowledge it for what it is and move on instead of stuffing it or ignoring it–which causes more damage to us in the long run. What is it they say? Recognizing the problem is the biggest step towards healing/change.
There was a great question posted by a listener on Wednesday that I couldn’t answer right away. She mentioned the many women in the Bible who were military spouses and she asked which of those women I could relate to the most. The judge Deborah came to mind immediately, but I think that’s because it’s my sister’s name. The more I thought about it, the more I began to realize that Bathsheba probably best represents many military spouses. She was left behind when her husband went to war, she had some bad stuff happen to her, and her husband was killed (not to mention her son by David also died). I relate most to her grief and struggles. My husband hasn’t died in the war, but many mil spouses have had to bury their loved ones recently. I don’t think the civilian world really understands the emotions that military spouses have to live with.
If you want to hear more, the show will re-air this Sunday at 10 am here.
You can also listen to an archived version soon here.
Have a blessed weekend!
Wings for Women Conference for Military Spouses 