Well the weather outside is GORGEOUS. Minus the occaisional gust-o-wind, it's a pretty perfect day. :)
I had a breakfast date today (at 7am....but it was redeemed by the fact that it was a Chick-fil-a breakfast place.... *sigh* Bill & I will absolutely miss that place!!) with an old friend named Taryn. She was a friend from church when I was in high school, SUPER sweet, and her story as of recently is what mine will potentially look like.
Why? Let me tell you why.
A) She got married to a cadet, (like me... but he was class of 09')
B) Their wedding was the Saturday after graduation (like ours.)
C) He got a Pilot Slot (like Bill)
D) He got stationed at a Pilot Training Base in Texas (same one as Bill & I)
There you go. There's my proof.
So, in case you missed the point, she is currently living and has been living in the place that I will be living in!!
The one down side to being an Air Force wife, for me, is that I'm such a planner. I love calendars, I love schedules, I love all of that. I love change as well... but as long as that change is in the plans. :)
So, this whole middle phase of not knowing where I'll be living, what my house will look like, how the Air Force life is, what jobs are available at this place, etc. has been somewhat of a hard phase of life to be in. I like to know this type of stuff, you know?
My future husband, on the other hand, is hardly worried at all. It makes me laugh - how God gave me a man that is the same as me in so many ways but at the same time is SO dang opposite!! God knows what He's doing though, my weaknesses in most cases are his strengths, and I'm blessed to have a man that will lead me and love me through my failures or growth phases. :)
Anyways, so Taryn is living right now in the same place I will be living in - with her cute little house, bike, pilot husband, and Air Force experience, and therefore, having breakfast with her was SUCH a breathe of fresh air!
We were able to talk about the little (but important) things, like can I paint my house? Do we want to live on or off base? How much will this cost? What stores do they have? How many jobs are there on base? What does your house look like? And so on and so forth...
It was great to pick her mind. She loves it down there, it is a really small town but she says it's great because there are less distractions there and therefore a perfect place for newlyweds to begin.
One thing I've heard already about the Air Force is that the community you find is awesome. You basically end up living in a neighborhood where just about every couple is a newlywed, and since it is a base for pilot training, most couples are in the same situations, where the young bride stays home and the husband spends his 12 hour days in pilot training. But knowing that fact, everyone is apparently really great and encouraging and you get to meet and make lifelong friends at your military bases!
I love people. I love community. So this is a huge plus for me! I'm so out-going and thrive off of meeting new people, so the idea of change or newness isn't intimidating to me whatsoever. I can't wait to develop a close knit community of other newlywed couples that we can do stuff with!!
Knowing Taryn has been a huge blessing too. She's such a sweetheart, already offering us a place to stay if our house isn't ready to move in yet, already suggesting we go on bike-ride dates, already planning our lay-out sessions in the middle of the hot Texas sunshine for us to get super tan for our husbands. :) Her and her husband Nate have a Bible study at their house every Wednesday night and she is so excited to include Bill & I in those plans!
Having breakfast with her was so encouraging and made me so excited for what's to come. I'm excited for all our "firsts," - first bed, first furniture, first time cooking in our kitchen, first time buying a car together, first time moving all our stuff in together, everything.
God is so good. He has blessed me with a man that is better than anyone I could've dreamed of. I never thought I would find someone as patient and loving as Bill. This time of my life has been nothing but a growing one - learning about myself, learning about others, the good, bad, and ugly. And having him in my life to walk me through this and love me regardless of my mistakes is more than I could've asked for.
I know that whatever my future holds, which is in many ways so uncertain at this point, will be filled with promise and joy because the God I serve is incredible and loves His children. I see His image daily in my future husband, and that is so encouraging.
I love love. I love being in love. I love giving love. I love being loved. I love that perfect love casts out all fear. I love that true love is alive and real. I love that love is as strong as death. I love that love can melt the hardest heart. I love that love is overcoming. I love that His love is better than life. I love that God is love.
That is the truth.
The truth will set you free.
