Reach out and Touch a Mountain

When I was 22 years old, my husband informed me that he was enlisting in the Army.  The little town where we lived in  Michigan didn't offer too many opportunities for jobs.   The economy was struggling, and Michigan was the hardest hit at that time for loss of jobs.   We had very little money to survive on and daily living was hard.  We had both been through ugly divorces and I don't need to tell most people how much ruin that leaves in your path.  Although we lived right in the same town as our extended family, my husband felt the need for a major change in our lives, and so, he decided to follow a childhood dream of his to enlist in the United States Army.  I freaked out, needless to say!   I had grown up in the little town we lived in.  I knew everyone....and everyone knew me.  How in the world was I going to leave all that I held near and dear to me and go out into the unknown?  We had recently had the addition of twin boys to our household..so not only was he asking "me" to leave my family and friends... but he was also asking me to take my baby boys away from their grandparents as well.  Being at the place in his life that he was at, he patiently told me, "I go with or without you."  That night I cried myself to sleep in his arms.  God reminded my heart that when I said my wedding vows to my husband, I promised "for better or worse."  Was this really worse?  I didn't know...but I was willing to go where ever he went.  My life was with him, and I wanted it to remain that way.  So, we embarked on that journey 29 years ago.                                                                                             

I have had alot of "eye opening" experiences through those years.  Once of which came when we arrived at Ft. Bragg...our first duty station.  I had a bulletin board in my room as a teenager growing up that I would pin little things on.  One of those was a saying that I cut out of a magazine that said, "Reach out an touch a mountain."  To me...that mountain represented God.  He was my mountain growing up. (and still is!)  Scripture tells us that all we need to do is reach out to Him, and He is faithful to meet us right where we are at.    Those words represented majestic power to me.  So...when I heard we were being stationed at Ft. Bragg, NC...my mind went to mountains.  There ARE mountains in NC, right?  Now I never have been very good at Geography.  It wasn't one of my favorite subjects...having devoted all of my energies to a Cosmetology class that I attended.  So.....to me.....moving to NC meant seeing those mountains....and yes!  I thought I would see them out the window of my living room as I awoke each morning.  I think, God in his caring about me and my hesitancy at moving, allowed me to believe that scenario to help me in the transition of leaving my childhood home to venture out into the unknown.   We left our little home town on an early summer morning.  We were a sight that would of put us right in the sitcom of the Beverly Hillbillies show!  We couldn't afford a moving van or trailer, and we didn't have alot to take with us, so my father in law provided us with the back end of a truck that had been cut off of the original and had a hitch welded onto it.  It sat higher than our car, and looked ridiculous!  But, it provided us a way to transport our things without spending any money.  A blessing from my husband's father. ;)   Two hours down the road, we had a flat tire, and ended up having to purchase not just one, but two new ones to proceed on our 800 mile journey that we still had to travel.  The tires cost us $111.00, of which came out of our $200.00 we had when we left our little town to venture out on our new life.  Who leaves home to start a new life with only $200.00 in their pockets to travel over 800 miles with 2 two year olds???  Yes.  We did.  We drove straight through the night, not having enough money to pay for a hotel room.  By the time we pulled into Ft. Bragg, NC, we had $5.00 in our pockets.  We stopped at a little connivance store and bought our 2 year old twins orange juice and powdered sugar donuts for breakfast.   What I remember the most upon embarking upon our new place of residence however, was not the fact that we only had $5 in our pockets, but the "scenery" that was before my eyes.  I was tired, so keep that in mind!  We had just spent a grueling 20 hour ride, non stop in a car, pulling a "truck" end behind us and dealing with 2 rowdy twin boys that wanted to get out and be free from car seats!!  Driving down Bragg Blvd. I was hit with the reality that not only would I "not" see mountains out my window...but those mountains were a 2 plus hour drive from my new home.  Talk about devastated.  I had to question God at that point.  Is this REALLY where you wanted us to live??  Really, God?  I tried to reason with Him.....all the time, fully knowing that there was no other choice.  "This" was home! So.... I decided that my "mountain" would be right here.  God has proved Himself to me over these last 29 years.  He has never left me nor forsaken me.