We landed just a few hours ago at the airport in Evansville. What an incredible trip! Less than 24 hours ago we were sitting in a rental car in a parking lot from 8am until that bus we had been anticipating finally turned the corner of "C Street" at Camp LeJeune, NC. It was now 1:57pm. Of course, the weather had been perfect up until approximately 20 minutes before the bus arrived. Now however, it was raining, and not just a little. As I started to complain about the precipitation threatening my hair, I thought about the 120 degree temperatures in Delaram, Afghanistan, and also about the text I had received just the day before describing -20 degrees as Regimental Combat Team 8 waited to leave Kyrgyzstan during one of the stops on their long journey home. I decided I liked the rain. And to be honest, I couldn't tell you if was raining or not once all those Marines started coming down the stairs of those buses. We held up a sign that said nothing but our last name on it...all in capital letters & penned with the brightest red sharpie I could find. It was the exact same sign we had held up at Luke's Boot Camp Graduation...and also at Matthew's. This sign made it easier for them to find us. We discovered a while ago that finding your own child in a sea of Marine Corps Cami's would prove to be more difficult than one would expect. This particular sign would work to our advantage in a couple different ways. We knew if we held it up high enough that Luke would be able to see it, and would come to us. We found out that as soon as Luke's bus passed in front of us, several of his brothers who were lucky enough to have window seats yelled out, "Hey Stauber, we know where YOUR family is!" So when Luke stepped off that bus, he knew exactly where to find us, and he did just that.
He's home. Not our physical home, but the country we are blessed to call our home...the United States. Luke's year in Afghanistan has finally ended. 2011 was was such a bittersweet year for us. While the blessings of God were poured out on our family business and on our lives in general, our middle child was literally on the other side of the world...fighting in what is a terribly violent and horrific war. No mother can imagine the intensity of sending her child off to such a place unless she has walked in my "combat boots" herself. The immense weight was so overwhelming at times that I often wondered if my physical appearance reflected it. Did my shoulders really appear the way they felt? But did I mention...he's home. There is a breath inside my lungs that hasn't been there for a while. There's a sigh that is one of relief now instead of the sigh of the past 12 months that meant...can I do another day? But guess what? I trusted you Lord, and you have yet to fail me. We did it. He's safe. He's home.
So that sign that says nothing but our last name has now been put away for another day. It will be pulled out again some time this summer when my oldest child (by 2 minutes), Matthew comes home from his deployment...yes, you heard me correctly. My Matthew is on a ship out in the middle of the sea somewhere. He spent Christmas in Singapore, which sounded pretty special. In the past couple weeks however, some things have come up with Iran, so now our ships are heading that way "to make our presence known". Of course the mother in me is googling "invisibility cloak", and trying to figure out how to make one big enough to cover a boat that is approximately 512' x 65' x 22'. Assuming that it may not work out, I will just have to stick with trusting God, after all...
His promises are yes and amen (2 Corinthians 1:20).
Luke & Matt...you are still in God's hands.
Good To Go,
Proud Marine Mom X2
