1-501st friends & memories

It feels like a lifetime ago that Ash was in the army! Ash came home from Afghanistan a little over three years ago and we instantly packed up and moved to North Carolina to begin seminary. We were so thankful to be reunited and were so excited for what God had ahead of us, that I didn’t spend much time looking back or saying goodbye to the army. Those few years in the army are precious in our memory for lots of reasons. Ash and I got married and learned to live as husband and wife while in the army. We had our first child in the army. We made many friendships that were great sources of companionship and encouragement—several of which are treasured still (I love you, Leslie, Laura, and Martha!). God even used Ash’s deployment to Afghanistan to give us things for which we are eternally grateful for (a magnificent obsession to fight the enemy of our souls and a clear direction to pursue seminary training). All of this is in addition to the fact that Ash loved being in the infantry and loved working with paratroopers. But like I mentioned above, when he came home that beautiful Sunday morning, we let it all go and ran after God in the direction of seminary.

Now, the last three years have been very satisfying. They have been challenging and filled with sacrifice, but we have been satisfied knowing God was using it all for good and the purpose of us knowing Him and enjoying Him. But since being back in Alaska, God has made it remarkably easy to reconnect with a couple friends from our army days. It is hard not to reminisce when throwing your arms around an old friend. These pictures are of Kim and Janelle and of the children God has blessed them with since the Afghanistan deployment (Janelle’s oldest daughter was only a matter of months old when her papa came home and met her for the first time). And Kim’s Jacob is actually a miracle to meet with his bright blue eyes and soft blond hair. After Afghanistan, the army sent these two families off for more training in Georgia, but sent each back up to Alaska. They have been here most of the last three years and it was wild to be able to reconnect with them and imagine where Ash and I would be if we had stayed in. Sadly, Kim and Janelle’s husbands have been away for a year now, serving in Iraq. I can’t even write that without beginning to cry because of how lonely and hard one deployment was for me. And now my long ago friends are almost through a second deployment!

Anyways, I post these pictures with a heart full of gratitude. I am grateful for where God has Ash and me now. I am grateful for a reconnection with a sweet past. I am grateful for these families who are sacrificing so much for our freedom. And every day, every moment, I am always grateful for the sacrifice that our God has made. The sacrifice these families are making makes me want to tell everyone to love them and appreciate them and understand what our freedom as Americans costs. Like this, but in the biggest way, I wish everyone could know the sacrifice our God has made. We have been enslaved, like the Israelites to the Egyptians, but we aren’t doing hard labor. We carry shame and regret and pain and guilt and are enslaved to our selfish, sinful selves. But God has come for us! He has rescued us! He has provided a way for us to be forgiven and healed and free! This came at a great cost to Him and I ache for everyone to know about this sacrifice. May we understand this sacrifice and love our God. May you know the freedom that God alone gives.

“Please, God, bring Ben, Rob and Jeff safely home to their families. Please tenderly, intimately provide for their families and may they be encouraged by Your love. May they all say, now and when they are reunited, ‘God is good and faithful and His salvation brings joy.’”



here's a picture from that beautiful Sunday morning when Ash came home... taken by my best friend, Marie.