I ask that you forgive me for how whiny I was when I wrote The Storm. It was a rough day, which followed a couple of rough weeks.
So, the storm that I was referring to was that my husband had been gone for SEVEN WEEKS for work! He left on February 8th and had been told that the trip would be 2-3 weeks. We were excited because the overtime pay alone would cover his trip to Sudan this summer…so it was definitely a blessing!
The difficulties started immediately, from water leaking into our kitchen (from the melting Icemageddon) to me losing my job; from me blowing a tire on my car to my dog getting sick…and so on. Some days the challenges were small, like having to kill moster-sized bugs in my tub, but other days put a very large emotional strain on me, like the day I lost my job. It was clear that though God had blessed us with the opportunity to fund the trip, the adversary was actively seeking to break my spirit by causing blow after blow on top of my loneliness. The day I wrote The Storm was the day we learned that Blaise would not be coming home when promised the second time, and that his stay in Arizona was extended by three more weeks. It was a rough night.
Anyway, I just wanted you to know that God has provided me with some amazing people who have totally refreshed my spirits. I am SO excited that funding for this summer is in place, that Blaise and I survived the long haul, and that God consistently led me to Scripture that provided me with just the strength I needed to persist.
It was strange having Blaise gone for seven weeks, though. So much happens in that amount of time…good and bad. The father of our refugee family got a job and lost it (transportation issues), a person dear to me found out she was pregnant and lost it, we had our first Tonj team training, and I watched a LOT of documentaries that Blaise would hate!
I feel like Blaise being gone was full of lessons: I am strong enough to take care of myself, we will be able to handle 8 weeks apart this summer, I have a LOT of family and friends who were here for me whenever I needed them, and this whole long trial was just another part of our life story.
The part of the story where Blaise and I spend a total of 15 weeks (nearly 4 months) living apart in 2011!
