End of an Era

 

 I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that Jason and I made a big decision for our family recently. I can now post that the decision was made for Jason to leave the military. Jason leaving the Army in no way means that we don't have a huge support and tremendous gratitude for the armed forces. We are forever indebted to the brave men and women who fight for us and the families who stand behind them on the home front.

I wanted to write a post for my precious husband. :) This was not an easy decision, and it's one we've been discussing for the past year. Jason has made wonderful friends and has experienced great things with the Army.

Jason and I met the week he got back from basic training and AIT. I had just started my sophomore year at UNA when I met him. My roommates introduced us, and I knew from our first conversation that I wanted to get to know this guy better. Ok, ok...the dog tags got my attention too! Not only was this guy an amazing Christian who loved the Lord, but...he looked dang good in those BDUs!  

Just a few short months after we began dating, Jason was deployed at the start of the war in 2003. We both knew that we were going to be together, and his deployment was one of God's ways of helping us to grow stronger from a distance. For a year, we both poured our hearts out to each other through letters. In fact, we still have the box full of all of the letters we wrote to each other! I can't wait to share those with our children one day!

Jason ended up serving in Kuwait for the duration of his deployment. He and the troops he was with set up a base camp for incoming soldiers. From what I hear, that camp is still there today although it has been given a different name. During the summer that Jason was gone, he began writing letters to me from Proverbs 31 (the wife of noble character). He would send each letter one verse at a time. He would talk about that verse and how it reminded him of me (aww!). This went on through the summer and fall of that year. Finally, he came home for a two week leave in December. We were taking pictures one day by the lake, and he got down on his knee to propose. It was then that he gave me the last Proverbs 31 letter! How precious! 

 

 

Jason came back home the following April, and we were married in June. The Army has been a big part of our lives for the last few years, and we are so thankful for the opportunities it provided for Jason and our family. Those many weeks without a husband were not easy! But we are so proud of of the men and women who are gone for months on end, and who have gone through multiple deployments.

 

 So I know I used this post as a tribute to my husband and our love story. I guess when I was thinking back on the Army and how it has been a huge part of our lives, I realized that it has been a part of our lives from the very beginning of our relationship. Up to this point, we have never made a decision without taking into account what kind of effect the military might have on that decision. So here's to the end of one era and the beginning of a new one! An era that will no longer involve something that has been such a huge part of our lives for the past 8 years. May God always bless and protect our armed forces! We are so proud of you!