Lessons Learned as a Military Family

When I first sat down to write this article, my mind was a flurry with partial ideas and the nervousness of what in the world do I share with people? How am I supposed to write something down to earth that will speak to their hearts and not sound preachy? What I came up with is to share with you a little about our life.

As a military home-school family, we’re often asked, “How do you do it?!” And usually my response to that is, the same way you manage your home-school, one learning opportunity or teachable moment at a time. The demands of the military, the schedules, separation of family, leaving good friends, making new friends, the moves (ack, the moves! 12 in 17 years, I can now unpack our house and look like we’ve lived there for a year in THREE days!) are all a part of our lifestyle. Adding home-school to the mix, actually made things easier! We are able to continue our home-schooling when we’re in between duty stations. Many times when moving, we may spend anywhere from a week to 2 months living in a hotel while looking for a home to rent or a home on base to be assigned to us. One thing is certain, we are never short of teachable moments! So, if you will allow me, I want to share with you some of the incredible lessons we have learned from our every day life.

1. A smile has more power than you realize!
In some of the most stressful situations, arriving Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in 2002 to the reality that 60% of our belongings were either broken or missing, our daughter smiled at me. At first I thought, good Lord! How can she smile at a time like this? And the Lord quickly humbled me with, “How could she not? You’ve a beautiful family, the opportunity of a lifetime to be in this country at such a time as this. The ‘things’ that are missing or broken are just that, ‘things’! Thank you Lord for setting the example and smiling upon your children! In that moment, I had the opportunity to share with our daughter how Christ’s light had shone through her.

Psalm 18:28-You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.

2. Flexibility is as necessary as food and water.
We all have our preferences when it comes to what we want to eat and drink, but when it comes right down to it, we can’t always have our favorites. This holds true with being flexible. Of course we want to keep to our schedules, lesson plans, etc. and still can, but they may not be on the days we planned them. I think as a home-school mother, I can be my own worst enemy when I put flexibility on the back-burner. I can not have a rigid schedule when everything around me requires that I be flexible. We’ve learned that God’s direction for our lives will far exceed anything we could have planned out.

Psalm 33:11- But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.

3. Grow and bloom where you’re planted.
Embrace every opportunity with the knowledge that God is sovereign and knows what we need most. I learned early on that comparing the previous duty station to the new one, sapped my joy and didn’t leave me open to experience the new one without bias. At each new duty station, I meet new people, have new experiences, learn about different cultures and tackle another mess that the Lord provides me with to minister to someone with. Now I have fond memories of all our experiences and people we’ve met, but I am also creating new memories to my life’s journey.

4. Everybody needs a day off!
I tend to get caught up in life in general and before I know it, the “days off” are only days off from school for the kids. I end up using those “teacher workdays” to catch up on grading, records tracking, housework, etc. Just a few weeks ago, our son asked me if I would play a board game with him to which I told him I needed to finish the laundry. He asked again and I told him I needed to finish cleaning up the kitchen so I could make supper. He was such a good boy and each time said, “Yes, Ma’am” and quietly walked away to play with his toys. After supper, he asked if he could help with the dishes and I said “Sure, buddy, get out your step stool!” As we washed dishes together, he said, “Mom, I know you were busy today and I understand why you couldn’t play with me. But, do you think you’ll have time tomorrow?” The understanding and maturity that came from our 7 year old’s eyes washed over me and the ache I felt in my heart at the moment, his big blue eyes looking at me, was utterly overwhelming. I was teary eyed and apologized right then for having put all those chores ahead of loving and spending time with him. Later, at my evening prayers before bed, I had the hardest revelation of all. How often do I put the Lord on hold just like I did our son today? OUCH! I made sure to share this incredible lesson the Lord had, the next day with our kids. Part of me loves those ‘Come to Jesus Moments’, the other part me knocks my head (like I should have had a V-8) for having needed them.

I’m so thrilled that God is a gentleman, patient, kind, forgiving, compassionate and more, all the time. Of all the things I appreciate the most, it’s the forgiveness, cuz Lord knows I screw up ALL the time. As a dear pastor has said, “He wants to turn your mess into a message and your test into a testimony”. I’m glad I’m still here to keep learning, teaching our kids and passing on to others what I’ve learned in hopes they will be encouraged.

Thank you all so much for reading! I’m sure you have stories similar to mine in your lives as well and I look forward to hearing about them. Until then…

Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 2 Peter 1:2

Julie is a happily married Navy spouse of 16 years, and a homeschooling Mom. She served in the Navy prior to having their children, a daughter – age 15 and a son – age 7. Not only does she have the joy of homeschooling their children and learning from them as she teaches, but she is attending college for her long sought after degree. In her spare time (what’s that? Giggle, giggle) she enjoys fishing, camping, scrapbooking, card making, crafts, reading and oh so much more! The question most often asked of her is, “Do you blog?!” The answer (at this time) is no. She does, however, enjoy contributing to various discussion boards and posting notes on others’ blogs.

Tags: christian living, Homeschool Holidays, Homeschool Vacations, military families, Military Homeschool, Moving Homeschoolers, Scripture, Teachable Moments

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