Living More Abundantly!

As a military spouse, I learned the importance of accepting change with a positive attitude. Easy?

Definitely not! Necessary? Absolutely! I knew nothing about military life when my husband

processed into the Army Chaplains’ School in January 1979, but I learned new meanings for

being “instant in season and out of season.” We had three children, 5 yrs old in kindergarten, 2.5

years old, and 6 months old. I was worried about how we would maintain family traditions and

connections with this total change of lifestyle.

Our first overseas assignment was to a remote area of Germany. The military allowed a

small shipment of personal items for the family to use until the larger household shipment

arrived. My husband was shocked to learn the bulk of our small shipment was Christmas gifts

and décor (arrived December 1 st ), rather than the standard amounts of clothing and personal

items usually for use until our larger household goods arrived. I was concerned that our young

children would be without the American holiday festivities. I learned quickly that Germany

celebrated the birth of Christ long before the United States was even a nation. I have continued to

learn more about the world around me with each passing year.

Little did we know that three Apostolic soldiers were assigned there and had been sharing

God’s Word with their peers. Upon hearing of our arrival, our house was full of soldiers. It

seemed our home was the gathering place. On any given day you could easily find some soldiers

in the kitchen baking cookies, etc. Others would be playing instruments and singing in the living

room, while some may be in the dining room playing games with our children. I had always

enjoyed decorating my house for various seasons. However, when those soldiers saw all the

décor, they immediately jumped into hanging the decorations and the artificial Christmas tree I

had packed. I was caught off guard when this all took off at lightning speed, but I realized the joy