An Unexpected and Much Welcomed Surprise

This weekend turned out to be another wonderful example of God’s grace and favor on Josh and I. As we have been walking through this new road of the Marine Corps life, there have been countless blessings that have come alongside the rough times we have been facing. The funny thing is- the blessings seem to be coming at the exact moments we need them the most. It is amazing how God can work in such varying ways to show us how deep His love really is for us.

I had planned on going down to Oceanside this past weekend about 3 weeks ago. My car has been continually having issues (never-ending, expensive issues of course), and I wanted to have it down in San Diego to be looked at and hopefully fixed by a family friend of ours who is a mechanic. I also wanted to leave my car in San Diego so I could have it when I fly into the airport there at the beginning of June. Josh and I planned for this weekend because it would have been over a month since we had last seen each other, which is more than long enough for both of us!

One of the things I have been learning most about the USMC is to be flexible with changes and uncertainty that may come around every corner. Some weekends, Josh has gotten his freedom, or liberty, granted earlier on Friday, sometimes on Saturday, and sometimes not at all. He turns in his cell phone to his commanding officer at the end of the weekend (Sunday evening) and gets it back when they go on liberty either Friday or Saturday. You can imagine my surprise, then, this past week, when I received a call from Josh on Monday evening. He called from an unknown number and left me a voicemail saying he did not think he would have liberty to even leave the area of the base surrounding his barracks. His officer had told them this would last for the whole weekend. As I listened to this voicemail, I became frustrated- not with Josh, of course, but with the current situation we are in. As the week continued, I found myself dreading the idea of going down to Oceanside. I already had an airline ticket back for today, Monday, so I knew I had to go through with the trip, but it did not excite me. The idea of having to sit outside the barracks with Josh, probably in the overcast weather, with little to do sounded like a bummer. I know he had been looking forward to having me there and being able to explore the base, since he had been very limited on doing that so far.

By the time Thursday came and I was driving to Roseville to stay with my li-laws before the early morning drive to Southern California, I was still not in a place of excitement, or anywhere close to it. I left at 4:30 AM on Friday morning and drove straight down the 5 freeway to Orange County. As I drove, I felt the urge to pray for the situation we were being put in. I knew Josh’s orders could have changed, it was definitely not too late for him to have more freedom than he had thought initially. I prayed fervently and repeatedly that God would allow a change that would create more time and privacy for us. I stopped on my way to Oceanside in Orange County to see two close friends, which was really refreshing and fun, and then drove to family friend’s house in Oceanside where I would be staying. I had no idea when Josh would be allowed to call, and waited to eat dinner or make any plans until I had heard. He called at 7:00 PM and said he had liberty that evening until 10 PM. I hopped in the car about 5 minutes later and sped over to see him. It takes about 30 minutes from there to the base, which left us over 2 hours of hanging out. We had to stay close to his barracks, which meant we were sitting on the concrete curb, with mice scurrying often on the hillside behind us. But we didn’t care- we were happy to be next to each other, eating pizza and catching up on the week. The best news of that evening was Josh’s liberty for the weekend had changed. His officer was now allowing them to have freedom across the entire base. We were stoked!

I said goodbye to Josh that evening and headed back to Oceanside. The next morning, I had breakfast with a friend and fellow Marine wife and then drove to the base again to pick Josh up. He got off at 11:00 AM and didn’t have to report back until close to midnight! I had looked into hotel rooms on the base, to avoid having to drive back and forth from Oceanside, and to have a place where Josh could change into regular civilian clothing! He had spent the past 6 weeks constantly in uniform and the idea of being able to lounge around in comfy clothes made him almost giddy. I had brought him homemade enchiladas and other goodies, which he much appreciated after eating the MRE’s offered when he is out on the field in his training (think backpacking food, but less appetizing). Needless to say, we ended up having a great weekend- so much h better than either of us had thought would be possible. We were able to go bowling, watch a RedBox movie, eat at a 50’s burger joint, go to the beach, and shop for items Josh needed. It was refreshing to be together and reminded us of how closely we are being watched over and provided for by our Lord and Savior. It was the reminder we both need to endure the next 5 weeks of training that remain.

Although we still do not know more about what our future holds- where we will be stationed or what type of job I will find or where we will live, I feel more at peace than I have in a long time. I know one thing for sure- wherever we are stationed, it will be amazing to be together. Absence really does make the heart grow fonder. I can’t wait to be living with my sweetheart again. For now, I will finish out my last week in Chico this week, head to Maui for 12 days of nannying and visiting friends and family, and then spend the rest of June down in Oceanside. I want to be as close to Josh as I can be so I can go see him whenever he has that freedom. As far as past June 21- we have no idea where we will be or what our plans are. But I am thankful to have had this past weekend and for all of the amazing friends and family we have surrounding us with love and support. We seriously would not be able to make it through this season without them. So if you are reading this, thank you for your support! We love you all!