Three Word Wednesday: See-You-Later {Guest Post}

There has not been much free time for writing since returning from San Diego. The pre-planning I did by scheduling to have my lovely milspouse friend Sharita of 7 Days Time guest post today turned out to be wise planning on my part. And seeing that I just had another “see-you-later” moment her topic is rather timely.

Please help me give her a warm welcome by leaving some comment love after you read her post and link up. This girl always makes me smile. You will love her!!

By the way, the Love Dare series will continue. I'm taking a short term break with Dare 13 scheduled for Wednesday, August 13th. I have something else in the works for next week. You can catch up on previous posts in this series here.

Now back to welcoming Sharita . . .

As an army wife, I have had my fair share of “see-you-later” moments.

I call those challenging farewell experiences “see-you-later” moments because I despise the word goodbye. “Goodbye” seems so… final.

And if you are a Jesus lover like me, there is no finality to the separation with our fellow Jesus-lovers.

This truth alone gives me strength/courage/hope to get out of bed each day and face whatever challenges God has divinely placed in my path.

Although I sound all macho-rock-star-confident about the see-you-later moments in my life, I wasn’t always like that.

I remember my first “see-you-later” moment with my then-boyfriend-yet-soon-to-be-husband Brandon.

We met 4 months prior and were just a few short days from facing a 12-month see-you-later as he headed to Iraq for the third time.

We were head over heels crazy for each other, already talking about our post-deployment marriage plans once he returned from “The Sandbox.”

Brandon was my first (and only) real boyfriend.  I had only been legitimately walking with Jesus for a couple of months at that point. Needless to day, I was less than excited about the upcoming deployment.

As the days of togetherness drew to a close, the two of us joined his family for a wedding. I was going through the typical process of meeting oodles of his relatives. His great Aunt Nancy was quite a hoot—a woman who was loud, adorable, funny, and a lover of Christ.

I wanted to be her friend.  Until we got to the see-you-later moment.

As we were saying our “see-you-laters” to the extended family, everyone repeatedly told Brandon that they would be praying for him, to keep his head down, all the typical pre-deployment blessings.

Then came Aunt Nancy’s turn. She gave my Beloved a hug and kiss, told him she loved him and said the words I have yet to forget: “Take care of yourself, Brandon. I will see you later. If not on this side, then definitely the next.”

My stomach dropped to my toes. I wanted to find the nearest trashcan, grocery bag or potted plant because I thought I was going to throw up.

Dear. Lord. In. Heaven. He really is deploying. I might never see him again. What am I supposed to do? 

Then I heard God whisper: “Daughter, trust me. I have you both in my care. And since you both love me, you WILL see him again one way or another.” 

Honestly, that sentiment brought me little comfort in the moment. It did keep me from redecorating the nearest potted plant, but I was still a ball of nerves facing the rapidly approaching see-you-later deployment moment.

Thankfully, Brandon returned a year later and we were married two months after he was back on American soil. In the years since that very first see-you-later moment and heart-jarring statement from Aunt Nancy, we have had many, many more see-you-later moments ranging from a few days to a few weeks to several months.

And wouldn’t you know it? As my relationship with Christ has grown, so has my peace and confidence in the thought about not saying goodbye but embracing the promise of “see-you-later” within Christ.

You don’t have to be the spouse or parent of a military service member to embrace this see-you-later concept. We all have experiences where we are temporarily separated from those we love, be it due to miles, technology, life circumstances or even those Christ followers who have already been called home.

Dear readers, when we are facing a tough “see-you-later” experience in life, we should adopt an attitude like Aunt Nancy. We can say our see-you-laters with confidence, allowing His peace and promise to flow through our veins. We can face those hard moments with the knowledge that no matter what happens, we have hope that we will someday take part in the most glorious reunion…

Be it on this side or the next.

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Sharita Knobloch describes herself as a Jesus-loving, enthusiastically creative minister, writer, and Blackaby Spiritual Leadership Coach.  She loves encouraging others to find Jesus in the everyday and live in His light through blogging and coaching at 7 Days Time Ministry. She adores her family, specifically her Beloved U.S. Army Infantry husband Brandon, their sweet daughter Charis, and goofy little dog Justus. Sharita enjoys exploring her current “home” state of Washington, working on her love-hate relationship with running,  breaking in new journals with inky pens, and the occasional square of dark chocolate in the bathtub.

Connect with Sharita on her Website, Facebook or Twitter.