The Countdown Begins

As of Wednesday we have exactly 2 months until Geoff heads off for mobilization. He will spend most of January at Ft. McClellan, Alabama, most of February at Camp Shelby, Mississippi and most of March at Ft. Polk, Louisiana. They will then head to Afghanistan late March early April. Of course this is all tentative. If you know anything about the Army it is nothing is ever final until after it has happened. I am not looking forward to spending all of 2009 without my wonderful husband. I am sure my friends and family will be glad for him to return in 2010. (I tend to be needy at times when Geoff is away; though I try very hard not to bother people sometimes I just can't help it.) Everyone has been so supportive and encouraging so far. I have had numerous people tell me to call them for anything I need. I can't believe the overwhelming support I have been given and it is still two months away! 

For those of you that have known me when Geoff has spent time away you know how I don't deal with this very well. It usually consist of mood swings, crying and feeling sorry for myself. Well I just knew that a deployment would be much worse and honestly for years I have been dreading it. I could never see how I would be able to survive a deployment. Well things haven't been so bad so far. There are two things that are different that I never factored into the equation in the past. The first thing is Ellie. Ellie is the second love of my life and she gives me a reason to keep going and someone to love in Geoff's absence. She has helped me tremendously and I am so glad to have her. The second is God. He has come back into my life in the recent past. I was saved when I was a young child and then I went off to college straying from my beliefs. Then recently I have begun my spiritual walk again. 

 One day I was driving home from school and the new Carrie Underwood song "Just a Dream" came on and I just began to cry uncontrollably. I decided at that moment to turn all my feelings and fears over to God and have complete Faith in him through this trying time. At that exact moment I felt this feeling of complete peace and have had the same feeling over the past several weeks every time I begin feeling sad again. God is amazing and I have truly been touched by the hand of God! I don''t know how people who don't know the lord can handle times like this in their lives. I just pray that he will touch them too, especially all the wives and children that will be effected by this coming deployment.