Here's a catch-up post from Aug 23, 2011
Today, David read a story in his literature book that just said it all :)
There was a poor man, living in a very stressful situation. He lived in a one-room house with his wife and his mother-in-law. He spent his day's tending his fields, milking his cow, feeding the chickens, tending his goats, and scraping together a living. He was miserable. One day, he went to his rabbi to complain. The rabbi told him that he had a solution to all of his problems, but that he had to follow his exact instructions. After the man agreed, the rabbi told him to bring his chickens in the house and to come back to see him in a week. After a week, the man came back and said "Rabbi! This is crazy! The chickens are making a mess of my house! My wife and her mother are complaining day and night!" The rabbi reminded him of his promise and told him that this week, he wanted him to bring his goats to live with him in his house and to come back to him the next week. If the chickens were bad, imagine what having the goats were like! A week later, the man returned and said, "Rabbi, the chickens are pecking us, and the goats are chewing everything we own!" The rabbi said nothing, but reminded him of his promise. This week, he told him to bring in the cow. After a week, the man came back and said "Rabbi! The chickens are squawking loudly, the goats are chewing on everything, and the cow takes up all the space in the house! We have had to sleep in the barn!". The rabbi just smiled and told him to relocate all the animals back to the barn and to come back in a week. When the man returned, he thanked the rabbi. "Rabbi, my wife and mother-in-law are so happy! We have so much space in our home, and we can eat and sleep without being disturbed by chickens or goats! My house has never been so clean!". The man had learned to be thankful for what little he had and thanked God every day for it.
I think that this story really illustrates why we are doing so AWESOME during this deployment. Yes, we miss having a husband and father, but it really could be much worse. There are mother's, wives, and children worried about the safety of their soldiers as they work in combat zones. My husband has a nice (though very dusty) air-conditioned office. There are families out there mourning the loss of their soldiers. I know that mine will be home relatively soon. There are even others who have the suffering of seperation turn into trouble and discord in their marriages. I get to spend a few minutes every mornig and late at night chatting with my husband on FB, where we tell each other how deeply we love each other and are thankful for what each is doing for the other each day, even if all it was was coming on to chat for a minute or two.
Instead of chickens and goats (or a cow!), I have sweet children. I may have a dishwasher likes to flood my kitchen, but hey... we have food to eat each day to dirty our dishes with!! Life is good, and will be that much better when my soldier comes home :)
