I hinted last week (and have been blabbing about it on twitter) that we would be staying here in Hawaii a bit longer than we thought. We were expecting to be packing up to leave in the next few weeks, but as happens in the military and in life, plans changed.
We found out a few weeks ago that Chris did not get the dream job that he has applied for three times and has been dreaming about for six years. It was a big disappointment and I have to say, it is so incredibly hard as a wife to see your husband discouraged. All I can do is hug him, kiss him, and tell him I am proud of him. (I can also take him out to sushi and a movie, which I did and it made me smile to see him smile.) And of course, I pray for him. Because it sucks to get your dreams taken away from you and it's times like these when we can start questioning God's plans for our lives.
After a few days of disappointment, we picked ourselves up and started looking ahead. The job he did get is actually a great job and he is going to love it, I think. Plus, he will not be deploying for the next few years and this job is not nearly as dangerous as the job he was hoping to get. We know that God holds us in His hands and there is no minute detail of our lives that goes overlooked by him. It's hard in the moment to understand why we are headed down a different path than we had hoped and planned for. And maybe we're not meant to ever know, but I have a feeling there's a lot of good stuff waiting for us.
So now we are waiting for some more answers. The next few months and years are fuzzy right now until we talk to detailers and get concrete plans laid out. (Ok, nothing is concrete with the military... let's say somewhat firm asphalt plans.) But it looks like we'll be here for at least another few months (maybe even up to a year).
Which is okay. It's even great!
We love our friends here.
Our beaches.
Our bike rides.
Our picnic dinners.
But it's just hard when you have one foot out the door, ready for something new, ya know? And it's frustrating not knowing what the future holds.
I hope it isn't cliche to put this verse in here-- but Jeremiah 29:11 is just so true for us right now.
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."
Good news for youuuu guys is that I won't be closing the shop this fall, like I was expecting to! And next week, I'll be opening up a spot in my custom queue, so keep an eye out!
lindsay