The Thing About Military Spouses

The thing about Military Spouses, let me tell you….

They. Are. AMAZING!

Seriously. Every single military wife/spouse I have met is such an incredible person and friend to have.

Everyone told me this going into our first station that “The military life is great, you’re going to love it! Its such a supportive community”. I heard that over and over again. I just thought people were trying to make me feel better about moving and the lifestyle we were about to enter into. And if you read the first blog post I made about moving for the first time and the change it brought, and knew me before hand, I was pretty much terrified of the transition.

Guess what.

They were, RIGHT!

The first spouse I met was named Mackenzie. We met at the spouses orientation day. We were waiting in the hallway for our husbands to meet us for lunch. With only the 2 of us left standing there awkwardly waiting, we kind of looked at each other like, “Can you not find your husband either?” and then proceeded with introducing ourselves.

From then on spouse after spouse I have met some pretty incredible women.

And to think I was so worried about this lifestyle. Boy was I wrong.

Its funny, how God really knows whats best for us and what the future holds for each person. He knows the desires of our hearts and brings them out, I think without us even knowing it sometimes.

I can’t tell you all enough how afraid I was to move to Virginia and start life with my Marine Corps husband. I was so scared. I don’t know how many times I cried leading up to the move, or lashed out at my husband because of the deep emotions I was feeling, or telling people I was “excited but nervous” for it all.

Okay, if I told any of you that I was “excited but nervous”, I straight up lied to you (ha ha). I was terrified of leaving home.

But, here I am. Living the life God gave me with full Joy. EVEN as a military spouse.

A lot of that is because of the other spouses I have met. The community it gives you, the friendships, the understanding, the companionship. It’s all amazing.

I wish every community of people had something like this, not that we are the only people to experience it, but it’s just so unique. I love it. I hope and pray that everyone gets to experience something like it, because it’s an amazing thing to have.

There are some spouses that I have only been friends with for a few months but have already gotten so close.

If that were to happen in civilian life and someone were only to live in your town for a few months, the chances of having a genuine and close friendship might be slim. But in the military world, you practically become best friends in a few weeks. All it takes is a little effort to get to know someone and a cup of coffee.

So if we have met in the past 17 months because of the military, I really appreciate you being my friend. It has made an impact whether you know it or not.

Advice to future/present military spouses: Be open to new friendships. Be open to trying new things. Be open to making close friendships in a short amount of time. Don’t be afraid to go to the big spouse events where you don’t know anyone, trust me, someone will talk to you. And if you’re bold enough, be the first to say hello and your name. Even if you are an introvert, you’ll probably feel like and act like an extrovert (ha ha).

Advice to civilians on military spouses: If you are NOT a military spouse and you meet a military spouse… BE THEIR FRIEND! Even if they are only there for a few weeks to a few months. Please, be our friend. Invite us to gatherings, and events. This may sound juvenile, but it’s what we need to keep ourselves sane and to feel like we’re all in wherever we move.

Advice to military men and women (about spouses): Once again, please be our friend too! I absolutely love when my husbands classmates and other marines come to ME to introduce themselves and ask me questions. You guys are the REAL MVP’s and you have all of our support, 100%. If you’re REALLY nice to us, we’ll cook you food and baked goodies, maybe.

I wanted to write this post because I have some really amazing friends that I thought I would never have, and they deserve to know it. You know who you are. And its all because of the military life. So in a way thank you to my husband for joining the Marine Corps, letting me be your wife, and taking me along this super cool journey that I thought would be terrifying.

In conclusion, be a friend to a military spouse today, because they just might be one of the best friends you’ll ever meet. And also, my husband rocks.

Thanks for reading,

~Erin

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know I the plans I have for you, ” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”