It's like I was crying for my brother's sake, not mine. Crying because he will miss out on a year of his life here. Crying because I know, he knows, he might not come back. Crying because he's gonna be alone, away from his loved ones.
He lined up in formation and then they did roll call. After roll call they lined up for the bus. His girlfriend, Bree, got to say goodbye again and we watched him get on the bus. He grabbed a window seat...this part was kinda funny because he was smushed into an average bus sized seat with another grown man and both of their gear. Poor guy, he couldn't really move his hands. He was facing the window to see us and it kept fogging up from his breath. It took all his ability to try and wipe the fog away with his hand.
After about 20 minutes of sitting on the bus, they finally rode off.
What a draining morning.
Aaron and I went to church afterward. It was really good because it got my mind off things. I know that God is in control of everything. In fact, he's using my brother's deployment to drill that lesson remind me of that lesson on a daily basis. "Kristin, you cannot control everything. Leave it to me. That's my job, and I can do a better job that you can anyways."
In a couple hours Aaron and I are going to take some boxes over to my brother's house to start the moving process. You see, we are going to live in my brother's house while he is gone. It's a plus because we will save money and have tons of space. The con is that I'll be thinking about how he should be living there.
Another thing God is opening my eyes to are the sacrifices of the soldiers' families. I have a new level of appreciation and respect for the families and spouses who send their loved ones off to war. It's been hard enough sending my brother off, I don't know how I would do it if I sent Aaron off. I'll use this experience as a reminder to pray for those who are without their spouses.
Next week, after the move, I'll be back to normal and I'll start writing joyous posts again=) But for now, thanks for letting me share this stuff, it's been helping me cope. The following is from 1 Corinthians 12. It a combination of verses representing why I am thankful to have fellow believers who share my burdens and joys.
The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
Thanks for suffering with me. It makes it easier to share the load=)
I'm praying for your family. I love you:)
I was so touched by your post. I hope your brother will be unharmed and will come back a better and stronger person (I tend to think that adversity is a good thing)
Take care.
It sounds to me that you are leaning on the right Guy. :) Will be praying...
Blessings~
Amanda
So, I just got around to reading this post. Your Mom had told me about it and I had been meaning to get on here... But anyway, I finally read it.
I have to admit it made me cry one moment and laugh the next. I am overwhelmed with lots of memories, and images of him squished on that bus! haha.
Your brother has been a complete blessing in my life. He is such a great person and what makes me sad is knowing that the person who I have the most fun with doing absoloutely nothing and the person who I connect with on a level unlike anyother is going to be out of my life for a WHOLE YEAR!
I want to say Thank You Kristin, for being a best friend to me and supporting me through all this. I love you and your family very much, and you are like the sister I never had.
Love Always,
Bree