He’s Home

On By This Beautiful LifeIn Adventure, army, Family, lifestyle, long distance, love, marriage, Military, relationships

He’s home and my heart has never been happier. My heart raced and I fought back tears as I read his text “We’re boarding the plane now. I’m coming home, I’ll see you soon.” I barely slept that night. Excitement coursed through my veins. After 9 months apart, just 20 hours stood between me and being in his arms again. Halfway through the night, as I was totally not sleeping, he called. He was finally stateside. Needless to say, after that, I was wired. Anxious and admitting defeat to sleep, I got up  around 4am and started doing my hair and makeup. Not to long after, he called for the last time letting me know that they were at there last connection and just a few hours away.

I arrived at the airfield hours early. So early that when I first showed up, no one was there. I thought I had the wrong location! Knowing I would be both anxious and early, I had my mom on standby so I called her and we talked for the next few hours. Finally about 4 hours out other people started arriving as well as the photographer. I am so glad I had her there. Not only so she could capture these precious memories but also because she really kept me calm and fill the time. I was a bundle of nerves! But we just chatted, shared stories and took tons of pictures. It was a fun atmosphere on the field. You could feel the electricity and excitement.

IMG_7579

Finally it was announced that their flight had landed and boots were officially on the ground! Just knowing we were so close to being together caused my eyes to fill with tears. That was the first time all the emotions really hit me. That was the moment I realized that this big, scary hard deployment was almost over. That I had made it, he made it… we made it. It was the first time I let myself fully feel it all. Everything from pain of missing him to pride, joy, relief for making it through. It was another 2 hours before we saw the white buses arrive but when they finally did, we all went crazy.

It took them about 5 minutes to file off and get into formation but it felt like an eternity. Finally they started marching towards us and my eyes weld with tears again. They played the anthem then the Commander gave a few words. The chaplain said a short prayer and then the Commander said “Well done soldiers. FALL OUT!” and everyone went in everywhere. I stood at the front and waited… and waited. I could see many around me finding and reuniting with their loved ones. It probably was about two minutes before he found me but when he did and our eyes met, time stopped.

That first hug… I truly do not have words for. As I held him in my arms, tears ran down my face. I have cried many tears this year. Tears of sadness, anger, frustration but these, these were tears of overwhelming joy. Its over. We did it. This deployment and separation is finally behind us. I don’t know how long we’ll get together before the next separation but what I do know is we are going to treasure and make the most of every minute and day we do get together until I have to let him go again.

85 thoughts on “He’s Home”

  13. Beautiful wife, Beautiful husband, Beautiful story, Beautiful ending….Yes, truly a Beautiful Life. I have enjoyed following your journey. Enjoy every moment of each other. Thanks for sharing with us1

    Like

    Reply
  14. Nora

    Congrats! I loved all the pics & I’m so happy your husband is home safe & sound. Enjoy yall’s homecoming hun. Love your dress & the sign.
    -Nora

    Like

    Reply
  22. lifestylewithlindsey

    Such beautiful pictures and loving words! My husband is currently away for BCT and AIT and I can’t wait for him to be home in a couple months. I am already dreading his first deployment, but I know for his homecoming I will probably arrive hours early like you did!

    Thanks for sharing, and thank you for all the sacrifices that both you and your husband make!
    -Lindsey

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Oh wow, how much longer does he have left? My husband joined last year and as hard as BCT and AIT were, they definitely helped prepare us for this past deployment. My husband deployed just 3 weeks after finishing AIT. We had already PCS’ed but had no idea he’d be leaving so soon till he finished in processing. The idea of deployments is definitely scary. Even with one under our belts, I’m dreading hearing about the next one. But just like we made it through this one, we’ll make it through the next and you guys will too! Thanks for reaching out! I love connecting with fellow military spouses!

      Like

      Reply
      1. lifestylewithlindsey

        I leave for his Basic graduation in two days (and I couldn’t be more excited!) then he has two-ish months of AIT. Part of me feels like the last two months flew by, but another part it feels like forever until he’s home again! But planning for our wedding when he returns keeps me busy! Where has your husband been deployed? I am dreading the poor connection when attempting to FaceTime already! I write him letters like crazy, those really help both of us!

        Like

  24. Dipti Malhotra

    Oh so beautiful!!! I am so happy for you!! and glad that you shared these amazing pictures with us. This is truly very special. Lots of love!!! yay!!!! ❤

    Like

    Reply
  33. pondersavant

    What a wonderfully written article! A military wife’s life is a world all of its own with so many challenges. How great it is that you captured such a precious moment within it.
    Congratulations on your husband’s return!

    Like

    Reply

  34. Hello Friend. I just read your post. Although I have read many posts here on WordPress, I need to tell you, you have the most beautiful love story so far. I am thrilled. I understand that you love your partner very much and this is a beautiful thing. However, I want you to know that before you met your partner, there was a man who loved you. He lost his life while trying to protect you, that man is Jesus. Jesus is your first love and he is the only one who can love you perfectly. The only perfect love comes from God and Jesus. Although we love our partners, we cannot love them perfectly, because we are imperfect ourselves. Therefore, we need to introduce them to a perfect love, a love that never fails, that love is God’s love. We also need to be aware and stay alert. God is real, heaven and hell are also real too. We need to make sure that we are building a real and true relationship with God. Everything in this life including marriages fade away when a person dies. All that would be left with their soul is their relationship with God, and a judgement of their life. We need to make sure that we are preparing ourselves to choose eternal life and not eternal torment. We also need to tell our partners about it and try to nudge them in the direction of eternal life.

    God says in Isaiah 1:18
    ““Come now, let’s settle this,”
    says the Lord.
    “Though your sins are like scarlet,
    I will make them as white as snow.
    Though they are red like crimson,
    I will make them as white as wool”

    God says in Jeremiah 29:11
    “11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope”.

    God is ready to receive you and to cleanse you from sin. Your past flaws and failures do not matter to God, he is ready to renew your mind and make you a new creation. Building a relationship with God is a win-win, he would bless you and direct you in this life, and also carve out a place for you in eternal life. There is nothing to lose except sin and bad behaviors. I suggest you begin a relationship with him today, tell your partner too.

    To build a relationship with God, here are the steps that I recommend:

    1. Confession of faith: you need to find a quiet space. Imagine that Jesus is in front of you. Ask him for forgiveness of your past sins, of the sins of your ancestors. Ask him to give you the strength to forgive those who have offended you. Honestly, I suggest that you forgive the people who have offended you, because whatever they did to you is now in the past, and upon a confession of Jesus as your Lord, you become a new creation. Tell him that you want him to come and be your lord and personal savior, and surrender to him. You need to know that Jesus died for you. He died on the cross so that you may have a chance at salvation. The minute you give your life to Jesus, you need to know that you can no longer live as you wish, you shall live according to the stipulations in the bible. Believe in your heart that Jesus was rose up from the dead by God, and confess with your mouth that he is the messiah and your personal savior.

    2. Prayers: ask Jesus to bless you with eternal life. Tell him to make a place for you in his heavenly abode. You need to understand that praying for heaven is the best prayer that you can ever pray. Life on earth is so short, you need to be worried about eternal life, which is so much longer. God knows that you need clothes, food, shelter etc. He is your creator and he knows your every need. The bible tells us to pray for eternal life and God would provide our other needs (i.e. clothes, shelter etc.) according to his riches. If there is something bothering you, tell God in prayer, commit it to him and ask him to do it for you. However, bear in mind that this life is temporary and so are the things in this life. When you are praying, the devil will try to disrupt your prayers by bringing sudden disturbances and evil thoughts. An example of an evil thought that the devil tries to use to stop people from praying is by bringing the thought that Jesus is not present and that they are simply wasting their time. Jesus is there with you when you pray. So pray like you mean it. Pray the same way you will if Jesus was right in front of you because he is. You need to understand how prayers work as well. You see, when you pray, God answers prayers. God usually has three answers to prayers Yes, Yes but Wait, and No. God has a reason for every answer that he gives. He loves you and he will make sure that everything works out well for you in the end. When you get a No from God, sometimes it is not because that thing is not good for you at that point in time, but it may be because God is trying to draw your attention to something that you are doing wrong in your life. When you get a No from God, you need to evaluate yourself, what is the motive of your prayer? is it pure? Is it Godly? Is there an area of sin in your life that you need to work on? When you reflect on these things and you find something in yourself lacking, try to fix it. When God says Yes to prayers and sends you his blessings, trust me, there are spiritual forces of the devil in high places that work against people so that their blessings from God would not reach them. You need to pray against these spiritual forces. Rebuke them by the power and the name of Jesus. This way, your blessings would be able to reach you. Lastly, some people pray lazy prayers. For example, someone might pray for a job, without actually applying to any. God does not reward laziness. When you are praying for something, you need to be putting some work in as well. God rewards hard-work and we ought to strive to be hardworking. God’s role is to direct, bless, and make your path clear. He would be with you. You need to make sure that you are close to God in prayer. Do not cease to tell him about what you are struggling with. If you are struggling with sins of the flesh that you believe are hindering your spiritual growth, you need to make sure that you tell God. Make sure that you pray for an increment in faith. Faith is important, you need to have faith in God. When we pray, we need to have faith, God does not like it when we doubt his ability to provide us with what we want, he is mighty and nothing is impossible with him. When you are low in faith, pray to God for an increment in faith. Remember to pray for your family, your city, your country and the world in fact, no prayers are too big for God. Pray that unsaved people would be saved. Pray for your non-Christian family members, pray that they see the light and become saved. When you pray, make sure that you take care of sins. The bible says that we need to forgive others if we want our sins to be forgiven. Make sure you forgive others, ask for forgiveness of your sins first before praying. Sins can block your prayers from getting to God. Try to avoid sin, but pray for forgiveness of sins everyday, because sometimes, we are not aware of the sins that we are committing.

    3. The Bible: You need to make sure that you are reading the bible and that you are obeying it. I suggest you begin with the New Testament because the coming of Jesus changed many of the things that were practised before. However, bear in mind that the old testament is also important. You can find free bible apps on google play. You can also find free bibles online. The New Living Translation is an easy to read bible version. However, the most popular one is the King James Version.

    4. Hearing from God: Trust me, God would speak to you. He would speak to you through dreams. Through people, through situations, through the bible and so much more. You need to practice and perfect the art of hearing God’s voice. Dreams contain a lot of symbolism. When you possess an avid knowledge of what the bible says, you would understand the biblical meaning of all the symbols in your dreams. However, for now, you can search online bible dream dictionaries for the meaning of things you see in your dream. You also need to know that although there are general meanings for some symbols, some interpretations are based on context. Take context into account. God does communicate via dreams. Sometimes, you might be asking God for direction on something. Pay attention to the words all around you during this time i.e, the things people say, words you see when reading the bible etc. Sometimes you might even just turn on your TV and the TV anchor would say something that directly relates to what you are going through. Pay attention to these things. You would know it is God’s voice when whatever is said is not in contradiction to the bible and God’s nature. If it is in contradiction then it might just be something random that popped up. As you practise the art of listening and hearing, God might give you the gift of seeing visions or the gift of hearing an inner voice, and take you to deeper depths of hearing.

    5. Fasting: fasting is an effective way to get God’s attention. Fasting is a way to spend time with him. You deprive yourself of food because what you seek for is more than food. There are different types of fasting, and you need to plan what works for you. There is the:

    A. Avoidance fasting: This is a fasting form where you avoid something that you cannot do without i.e. Coffee.

    B. Daniel’s fast: In this sort of fasting, you only eat fruit and vegetables and drink water. You do not eat anything cooked or anything other than fruits and vegetables.

    C. Water fast: In this sort of fasting, you do not eat anything, you only drink water. No food, just water.

    D. Total fast: In this sort of fasting, you do not eat or drink anything. You do not drink even water.

    Make sure that you work out what works for you. You can pray to God for directions on the timing of the fasting to follow. However, as a general time-frame, on fasting days, many Christians fast from 6am to 6pm. Many Christians also use those moments when they feel hungry/ feel cravings as prompts to pray. You need to have increased prayers during fasting periods.

    6. Temptations: When you believe in Jesus. Trust me, the devil sometimes would throw trials and tribulations into your life, the goal of this is to get you to denounce your faith. The goals is to frustrate you. You need to pray and fast when trials and tribulations strike. God would never leave you or forsake you. He would be with you and with God, you will overcome this if it ever happens.

    7. Spreading the gospel: Now that you know the truth, you are chosen. It is now your duty to share the truth in the bible with others. Make sure that you save people from falling prey to Satan’s tactics. You need to join the fight to depopulate the devil’s camp, while populating God’s kingdom. With spreading the gospel, do not feel the need to finish reading the whole bible before you begin. You can teach people the little you know.

    8. Read: There is a lot of material out there. There are ministers of God who have practised for about 40 years. These people have a lot of stories about their ministry. Some of them have the gift to heal others, others see visions, some of them hear God’s voice. Many of these people have written books about how they accomplished what they have accomplished, and how they got their gift. Buy these books and read them. If you do not have money, some of these ministers have shared their stories for free on YouTube, take advantage of that.

    9: Reform yourself: begin to watch Christian movies and listen to Christian music. Make sure that your thoughts, actions, and words are in obedience to the word of God. Make sure that you are not doing anything sinful in your thoughts, actions or words. Refine your world, the space around you, the things you see and hear, make it all about God. You can also join a community of bible believing Christians. However, I need to tell you that there is sectarianism in the religion. Do not pay attention to sectarianism, pay attention to the bible. The bible is your authority. If a church seems to have too much sectarianism issue going on, if they are more focused on promoting their denomination than promoting God and the word in his bible, you need to stop going there. Get a water baptism, and pray so that God would baptise you in the holy spirit.

    (I know I have written this list in the order of 1 to 9. It is crucial that you begin with Step 1. Prayers are something that you need to do constantly, so is bible study, hearing from God and reforming yourself. However, you can start small with fasting and spreading the gospel. You can start by preaching to your family members in the beginning phase of spreading the gospel, but you need to expand on these over time. I know this list seems long and all these seem deep, but trust me, you would blend into it so easily and it would become second nature to you. Pray to God to make all of these easy for you, and he will. The devil would try to trick you into believing that God’s standards are too high and that you would never overcome sin, when in actuality, you can. So therefore, pray to God and believe and he would help you overcome sin).

    If you have any questions, feel free to let me know. If you need to talk, I am here for you. God bless you. Have a blessed day 🙂

    Like

    Reply

Leave a reply to windsofchange18 Cancel reply