My dad is in the NC National Guard. When 9/11 happened we became a military family. As he was deployed to Iraq once, Kuwait twice and stationed away from home in the U.S. once, we learned what it meant to be a military family. It meant learning to live life without a vital member of the family present. It meant learning to cope with the loss of a loved one. I once heard deployment described like this "Having a family member deployed is like having a death in the family". When there is a death you have to mourn and go through a grieving process. This process is very similar to what military families go through when a soldier is deployed.
In my house we can't help but compare my mission trip to a deployment. I will be gone for the better part of a year. Contact with home will be limited and sometimes non existent. They will have to grieve the loss of me. And in a way I will walk in my dad's shoes. I will be the one deployed. This will be my tour over seas. Only I won't be going with the United States military. I will be going with the body of Christ.
I am super pumped about the things I will see and do. I cannot wait to find out what God will do through me. My biggest prayer is that He will allow me to be a part of something big in someone elses life. I am going with an expectant heart but expecting nothing. But as the time to leave draws near my heart hurts.
My heart hurts because I am leaving behind the people that matter most in my life. This morning I said goodbye to some of my best friends in the world. The people that I can call in the middle of the night and cry to when my world is out of control. The people that pray with me when I don't have the words to pray for myself. I'm leaving behind brothers and sisters and mentors and teammates. This is the hardest thing I've ever done but I know it's going to be worth it.
Nothing worth having is ever easy to come by. This is definitley not easy. So it must be worth it. Stay tuned to find out.
