As I sat down today in the quiet of my house on my first day back to work….kids are back to school, Kevin is back to work….I decided to pray over my goals this year and make them with God. You see, normally I have my resolutions all planned out, I tend to be a bit Type A and a workaholic. But not this year….this year, I took time off to be with my family around the holidays. Present and focused on the Joy of the Season. You see, this has been a very tough year. In many ways, one of our most challenging. Kevin made a huge job change that greatly impacted our lives, I left my teaching job and took my business back to a full time status, my brother and sister in law are living abroad with our nephew and we are so ready for them to all be home in the states, we lost Kevin’s sweet grandmother, and we went through another huge loss…my children experienced the deaths of two very sweet and dear friends. All of these events greatly impacted my view of what 2016 should look like for our family. I sat down a few months ago and wrote the below blog post….but I haven’t been able to share it until now. It has taken a lot of prayer, a lot of soul searching, and quietness to seek God’s purpose for me in all of this.

Military spouses are the ultimate chameleons, constantly reinventing ourselves with each new duty station. As my faith has grown and my years of wisdom have increased, I have learned to seek God’s purpose for my life and not my own desires. He has amazing plans for us, as we learn in Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you…” When we turn our lives over to God’s will, He can use us in unbelievable ways….even when it is sometimes painful.

The past six months have been tough for our family and our community. We have grieved the loss of two precious children that were near and dear to our hearts. Our family became friends and neighbors with the McCawley family when we moved here four years ago. They are a fellow Marine family and our kiddos hit it off immediately with their brood of 5! My Grace was a mainstay in their home for babysitting gigs and fell in love with their giggly crew. Our twinnies became besties with their oldest daughter Eva. Tiff and I share a strong faith and often cried and prayed our way through Afghanistan deployments for both of our husbands. We would lift each other up when the other needed it and allowed each other to stomp our foot when we also needed to vent. Tiff and I had many deep conversations about our faith, parenting, marriage, moving, and life in general as we stood on each other’s front porches while dropping ballerinas off from dance carpool. We hosted sleepovers for each others daughters, trick or treated together, and were Nutcracker Moms backstage every year. It is true to say that even though we are crazy….we ROCKED crazy together! God had appointed us as friends.

My heart broke into a million pieces for our dear friends when we learned that there had been a tragic accident that had taken the lives of two of their precious children, Mercy and Sam. Mercy was a firecracker….when she entered the room, you knew she had arrived! Everyone who knew her, loved her…and those that didn’t know her, instantly fell in love with her. She had a special love for my Dad and my husband Kevin…in fact, she spent a recent dance recital on Kevin’s lap to watch her sister and Maddie and Emma dance and then charmed us out of our fries while Tiff had gone to pick up her lunch. Sammy was the baby…full of love, hugs, and mischief. As Tiff said, he had the Cheshire Cat grin. He loved God and had an amazing understanding of his faith at his young age of 5. There are simply no words to describe the pain I have watched Tiffany, Charles, and their family go through over the last few months. All I can say is that it is a horrible pain I feel in my own heart…I can’t even imagine theirs. Tiffany has used the grief to reach out to others through her faith and her writings and teachings on God’s word as they walk through this deep, dark valley.

I share their story because I truly believe that God placed us in each other’s lives for very specific reasons and for times such as these. I didn’t fully understand being obedient to God’s plan for my life and using my gifts to bless others until the day that I was there helping Tiff unpack as they moved into their new home (when the accident happened, they were in the middle of a military move…all things were put on hold…orders were cancelled, the renters moved in, and the McCawleys moved into a new house). I had been there a time or two before to unpack, support, and just help. I had been strong…hadn’t let Tiff see my tears as I unwrapped pictures of their precious babies that we wouldn’t see again on this side of Heaven. It was very hard….but I knew we had to be strong for her. The day I walked in and she asked if I had seen “the wall”… With tears in her eyes, she smiled and said, “Your wall”. You see, last fall, I had done a family portrait session for their family. It had been so fun because they are the kids that run and play…laugh and giggle….pose and then stick out their tongues. We captured the perfect family session that fall day….it showed the love between them all and the pure joy of what it meant to be a kiddo in their family.

As I turned the corner, I saw the entire session on their new living room wall in frames. The giggles, the smiles, the silliness of all 5 kiddos were displayed there on the wall. As Tiff and I stood there, we held each other and cried…I knew that through my obedience to God’s calling….that tiny whisper that says “I have a job for you.” …I was able to be a blessing to these dear friends… Mercy’s dancing eyes and Sammy’s Cheshire grin were forever captured and will never be forgotten.

I pray that God will continue to hold their family in His hands as they walk through these dark days and that they will forever remember that they are loved beyond measure.

I also ask that you pray about how God is trying to use you in the lives of others. What gifts and talents has He given you and is now calling you to use?

Use your 2016 to serve and bless others…

XOXO,
Corry

Here is the link to Tiff’s Blog:  Follow along with their story of hurt, grief, healing, faith, and God’s hand in their lives.  She is an amazing woman of faith and her words are so powerful.

http://theclanmccawley.blogspot.com/2015/12/there-are-holes-in-floor-of-heaven.html?spref=fb