I cannot even believe it has been two YEARS since I've written on this thing!
Let's do a quick recap of the last 24 months:
Jason deployed for the second time.
I stressed 24/7 for 8.5 months.
I also came back to the States to work while he was gone.
I spent all the money I earned to buy Jason a new truck. Look, I'm gonna talk about that forever, okay?
I flew back to Germany and got my hero back.
We continued traveling the world over the next few months, until…
ARIZONA(/MEXICO).
Where Jason went to nerd school and I watched every single thing in the Netflix library and went to Marshall's every day.
I also worked at Dillard's for 2.5 days. If you haven't heard that story, please ask me at some point. I swear it's worth it.
It was
Okay, I'm being dramatic.
But it was where people go to retire, not to spend their 27th and 28th years of life.
Now we are stationed in Louisiana, where Jason uses his nerd knowledge to train other soldiers.
And I also work. From home. Doing the same job I've done on and off since I graduated college.
Huge blessings on that last thing.
Like blessings so big I cried when I got asked to come back.
Real, ugly tears.
So that brings us up to speed! We've been living the Louisiana life for about 10 days now. And are y'all ready for this next part?!
WE ACTUALLY LIKE IT!!!
Okay, I get it. Some of you (all of you?) are like, "What's the big deal? Aren't you in New Orleans or something?"
The big deal is Ft. Polk, LA has what I would consider a pretty terrible reputation within the military community. "There's nothing to do there." "It's so hot." "I hope you like alligators." (Also… what? Do they come hang out with you at home? Do I really have to like them?) Blah, blah, blah. Nothing that has any real merit, is what I'm actually learning. But before I go any further, let's rewind a few months…
Last fall, we got a list of potential new duty stations, which Jason and I spent a good deal of time ranking (and crossing others of the list completely). Make a list of the top 20 duty stations you would like, the Army says. We will try to give you one of those, the Army says. Just kidding, the Army says. We'll send you to your second from last "never, ever do we want to go there" place.
Fort Polk, Louisiana.
Here's how it went down: Jason calls Kate, tells her the news, she says, "Very funny. Where are we really going? Clarksville?" Jason says he is serious. He's not sure why it happened but not to worry. God has a plan. Did you catch that last part? GOD HAS A PLAN. A really good one that Kate was willing to look past in order to have a panic attack. I immediately went in freak out mode. I called my dad from the floor of our guest bedroom, bawling my eyes out. Yep. Over the simple fact we were moving to Louisiana. Because that's not how it was supposed to be.
Fast-forward a few months. People were pretty vocally negative about the whole situation. Which made my outlook on the thing so much worse. Until I decided I was already hating something I'd never even experienced! (And that most of the negative people had never experienced either!) So I changed my attitude. As my new life motto goes (thanks to the knock-off Jiffy Lube on Emory Rd.): Be a fountain. Not a drain. I decided right then and there this WAS happening for a reason, and I might as well be happy about it. Even if the happiness was still a little forced. GOD HAS A PLAN finally came into my heart and not just my mind.
Fast forward a few more months. Jason and I arrive in DeRidder, LA (a town about 40 min. south of post, where we thought we'd buy or rent a home). Straight off 18 hours in the car, we drive to meet a realtor. We see a house. I get in my car and cry (yes, again). What in the WORLD is this place?! runs through my mind more than once. Jay and I decide to head to post, check into our hotel, maybe have a couple drinks (look, I was stressed), and then start the search again the next day. Then we decide the house within our budget was so nasty, let's just go out on a limb. Let's spend a little more and find somewhere nice. We call the realtor back. We go see said "nice", "above the budget" house. I cry one more time. What are all these smeared brown stains on the wall? Why is there no refrigerator? Why do the doors not close shut? Did a wild animal actually die in here somewhere? Were all legitimate questions we had when we left.
Then it hit me. Psalm 37:7 all but slapped me straight in the face. "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him." It was the only thing I needed to hear.
Why am I trying to make all these plans? God already has it in the works. He knows exactly how it's going down. HE HAS OUR BACKS! Always. In every single situation. Big and small.
The next day we decide to check out on-post housing, something we ruled out super early in the process of moving. All we had heard were horror stories of month- and year-long waiting lists. That we'd only qualify for a 2-bedroom house. That we probably wouldn't get a garage. Then the nice lady says, "Well guys, we're all out of 2 bedrooms. Let me see if I can offer you this 3-bedroom…today." I cry. But this time tears of joy. We spend the afternoon before our walk-through trying not to get our hopes too high. Then we walk in, and it was like God was right there with me, saying, "See. I told you I got this."
We signed for our house that day and moved in 2 weeks later.
Now, all the boxes have been unpacked, and we're settling into a new (very humid) routine. We have awesome neighbors. GRASS! AND TREES! GREEN STUFF!! It's just the most beautiful. Seriously. We have a lawn not made up entirely of pink rocks. This will always be a big deal to me.
And we are HAPPY. So very thankful, grateful, feeling blessed, and happy. No, there aren't countless restaurants here. And yes, the nearest Target is an hour away. But in every single situation, God provides. You just have to put your panic attack aside, decide to be a fountain, and trust.
More updates to come from swamp land! (Also, it's not swampy here. I don't know what people are talking about.)
