My love story (Part 3)

Noah and I began figuring out his future before establishing ours. After several months of research Noah finally decided on joining the United States Air Force as an Air Traffic Controller. I was so excited that he found something that he could settle into. Well around this time of change in careers there was also a change in seasons. Late October my family decided to take one last camping trip. This trip involved my parents, Noah, my three youngest brothers (Jonah, Silas and Isaiah) and me. It was a beautiful weekend for camping and we went to one of Noah’s and my favorite places to hike, Pine Grove Furnace. On the second day of camping (October 27^th2012) we started hiking the trail up to Pole Steeple. Once we got to the top, Noah took me to the edge and got down on his knee and proposed marriage to me!

 It was such a perfect moment in my favorite season, in my favorite place, with my family! We had a lovely gourmet picnic (that my parents had packed as a surprise) on top of poles steeple to celebrate! Life was good! We had had ten months of courting, planning, working together in a relationship and we felt very ready to be married to each other! Things were coming along nicely. And thus the wedding plans began. But first I have to interject in my little story. Because it is amazing how God gives you what you need instead of what you want. God knows that I am impatient and I like to have everything go according to my plans. Yet God’s plans are better for me and stretch me to become more patient, understanding and grow deeper in my dependence on Him. So instead of God letting me get engaged three months into my relationship, I had to wait ten. Okay the wedding plans began. Noah talked to his recruiter and both were happy with the idea of Noah leaving for Basic Training in May of 2013. I was happy with this plan because that meant we could get married February - March to have two months together as a married couple before he left. Noah started renting an adorable little yellow house in preparation of this plan. It was only a few minutes away from my parent’s house and seemed perfect so when Noah had to leave I would be close to home. The plans were coming along when suddenly in January there was a big change.  Noah got a call from his recruiter informing him that the job he wanted just became available for training but that if he wanted it he would have to leave in 10 days. O_O I could not believe it! Noah wanted this job and decided it would be best to go. But of course that meant changing everything. The last couple days with him were a whirlwind. We got his life together in ten days, he said his goodbyes and then he was gone. No email, no texting, no skype for two and a half months during basic training. The only contact he was allowed were letters. So he got a letter for each day he was in basic training (which was 59 very long days). 

While he was gone I had to pack up that little house and put everything in storage. It was like packing up my hopes and dreams, hoping someday I would see them again. I did not understand why this had to happen.  We were so close and then in a blink everything changed. All of our contact, all the "good morning beautiful" texts, all the calls at lunch break, the weekend visits, all gone. And I would not see him again until 6 months later. Can you feel God stretching my controlling side in this story? :)