Written By: Nikki Threatt
There are laws of psychology, or cognitive bias that one can relate to. My personal favorite or at least one I can relate to the most right now is Murphy’s law. Knowing Edward A. Murphy’s extensive military background in both the United States Army and the Army Air Corps, it is only natural that he would suggest, “What can go wrong will go wrong.” My only question is, why did he not call this “Military law”? Interestingly, he developed this logic while working on rockets for the military, and therefore, I am now renaming it “military law.”
Come on, ya’ll, you know how life is going so well. Everything is operating on schedule, and then your spouse deploys, or worse yet, deploys within 60 days of PCS’ing. Through my experience, these are the times when it seems like the world comes crashing down all at once, and it’s tough to see the positive things.
My husband, after 22 years of active service, retired, and we moved from Italy to Maryland with four kids and three animals. Let me give you a quick run-down of my episode of “military law.” Our flights got messed up after we got to the airport with all the kids, animals, and eight bags, only for them to tell us there was a mix-up with booking and we would have to reschedule and try again the next day. Did I mention we had no car and were over three hours away from our little remote base?
That was just the first thing that went wrong. It took us over 48 hours to get on a flight. Then when we did get on the plane, they could only fly us into New Jersey! Four hours away from Maryland! We had to spend extra money to rent a vehicle large enough for all of our things and to make the four-hour drive. The lack of sleep and the long flight were not fun, but we made it! We checked into our hotel, where we still currently reside while trying to find a house.
House hunting is supposed to be fun and exciting, but the first couple of days were far from it. The kids had to come with us, and after going through every house, running around and claiming rooms, it was just too much for them, and attempting to control that environment only added to my stress. At this point, “military law” has affected our flights, the amount of money we’ve spent, and has also affected my husband’s new job. There was an unexpected hold up that delayed his start date by almost six-weeks, which means we have no income and are stuck in the hotel.
Oh, and our kids’ new school told us that they couldn’t start school until we move into our residence, even though it is currently under contract. The “military law” effect goes on and on, my friends. Everyone keeps telling me, “God won’t give you more than you can handle.” Then the ball drops, and my dad has a heart attack way across the country in Oregon. I legit threw my hands up and said, “GOD, I CANNOT TAKE ANYMORE!” When my eight-year-old looked at me and said, “Mom! Do not yell at God. He is taking care of us,” that was my moment……the moment God said, “Look, Nikki! Look around you.”
While I was thinking about all the things that had gone wrong and falling apart, I had neglected to stop and think of all the ways God was taking care of us. Yes, we were running out of money, but we had a roof over our heads. Yes, the rental car was expensive, but at least we had one. No, my husband has not started his job yet, but he has one. He’ll begin eventually. More importantly, yes, my dad had a heart attack, but he is ALIVE, and he is well! His surgery went perfectly, and he is recovering with a great church community loving on him.
Do you know the footprints in the sand poem? Well, this was my “footprints in the sand” moment. I was so overwhelmed with how life was falling apart; I was not thinking about how God was carrying me. He was taking care of things, maybe not the way I wanted or when I wanted, but He was taking care of us.
“I raise my eyes towards the mountains, where will my help come from? My help comes from the lord.” Psalms 121:1
This is precisely the verse God laid on my heart. So I hope when you are experiencing “military law” you remember this: MY HELP COMES FROM THE LORD; YOUR HELP COMES FROM THE LORD. Lift your eyes and get down on your knees. I know I needed this in our storm. God is the calm amidst our storms.
We are still struggling hard in this season, but God reminding us to stop thinking that we have to figure it out on our own has given me a sense of peace amid all this stress. God has me, and you know what? He has you, too.
Written By: Nikki Threatt
