The first chapter of my book is about being lonely. When I think about my life as a military wife, the periods of separation stand out clearly as the toughest parts of the role. I knew there would be those times, but I had no idea how hard they would be.

Feeling completely lost and small and as though no one understands or cares, is not something you can really anticipate. That is exactly how I felt the second time Biggles deployed. We had been together a year and I had moved to the other end of the country to continue relationship but just weeks after that move, he was gone. He wasn’t supposed to deploy so quickly, but “service need…etc.”

So I found myself three hundred miles from friends and family in an unfamiliar area and all alone. I was so fragile that even the man in the China store reduced me to tears, just by asking why I’d waited for the last day to order a plate that was going out of print.

I was pitiful.

So I geared up for the six months apart (it turned out to be longer as they got pulled into a conflict in Africa a week before they were due home), and began my letter writing, TV dinners, romance novels and chocolate routine – my coping strategy if you will. But it wasn’t the coping strategy of champions. It was a Band-Aid on a compound fracture.

What I learned, many years later, from other wives of faith, is that you have to let The Lord take care of your heart at times like these. In Psalm 68:6 David tells us that The Lord sets the lonely in families. I must admit that when I have relaxed control in this nomadic life and sought Him instead of following my own agenda, He has done just that.

So if you are lonely today, let me encourage you; in Romans 14:7-8 (paraphrasing a little) we are told that we never alone if we belong to the Lord. Instead of using Netflix and Reeses (my one weakness) to fill the empty space, grab your Bible and a journal; find a great ladies study, and let Jesus minister to your very soul. He will do so much better than anyone or anything else.

When you allow the Holy Spirit to live within you, there really is a peace that defies understanding and not only will you feel it, but it will radiate out of you and touch other lives too.

To learn more about my Military Wives Bible study, please contact me.