Diary of an Unwilling Air Force Wife: Conquer the world

“I can conquer the world with one hand, as long as you are holding the other”

I just wanted to mention that today is the one year anniversary of the day my life changed forever. I guess, in a way, every small change could be changing my life forever. But this, the day Phillip told me he had decided to join the Air Force, definitely felt like one of the biggest and most life-changing days of my life. Almost every other change had happened so gradually. Even getting married felt like a more gradual change, because I knew that I loved Phillip, I knew that I wanted to marry him, I knew that it was coming, I knew what to expect. 

But when Phillip told me he was joining the Air Force, it was the most sudden change I’d ever experienced. It meant moving somewhere, anywhere in the world. It meant losing my job, leaving my friends and family, leaving my adorable little house, my church, my soccer team, my AWANA girls, my home.

I honestly did not see the Air Force as a good thing. I accepted it, I accepted Phillip’s leadership and his decision, but I was not happy. I was not at all convinced that this could possibly be for the best. In fact, I was sort of counting on being miserable. But I tried to hide my attitude, to be supportive and positive. I bought Phillip a poster that said “My darling, let’s be adventurers” to show my willingness to follow him on this next adventure. But I didn’t actually expect good things.

Now that I look back over this too short and too long year, I can see that so much good has come as a result of the obedient response to this calling in our lives. I know that Phillip joined the Air Force because he was called by God to serve his country, and I can see that God has blessed him for his obedience. Phillip’s blessings have been: training in a very interesting field, a steady and interesting job where he gets to meet high-ranking officers and officials, a fabulous transfer to a wonderful private university where he can finish his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees very quickly and frugally. I know that he is blessed to be able to provide for his family, to have an excellent witness to people who are hurting at work, to learn new skills and vastly expand his resume.

 I also believe that God has blessed me for my obedience, for following my husband to the ends of the earth and respecting him and his calling. My blessings have been: quitting a job that I was beginning to hate, getting my ultimate dream job of stay at home wife, getting to travel the world and having the freedom and time to do so, learning to be closer to my husband even through separation, and bringing me to a place where I can minister to my unsaved relatives and be an encouragement to the people around me.

It was so wonderful to wake up this morning and be able to look back over this last year, to see the hand of God directing our steps and answering our prayers in ways we didn’t even think were possible. I know that there are going to be many hard times ahead, and that this new life we’re leading won’t always feels fabulous and blessed, but I know that, as long as we are trying our hardest to follow God on this adventure, together we can conquer the world.