Day Seventy-one

 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

If it weren't for God's peace I would have lost my mind today.

This afternoon I received an email from our calling/email tree saying that Chris' unit was on a mandatory "Blackout". Which meant that the unit was not allowed any communications home~~emails or phone calls. It seems it started a day or more ago. There was no real explanation given as to why the Blackout was happening. Just something about how sometimes they occur when there is an incident that has happened (good or bad) and the Army wants to make sure facts are gathered before any information is sent out.

Yeah, that went over well with my mind.

At first I couldn't wrap my brain around what was going on. I was trying not to panic or let my thoughts go crazy. Then prayer kicked in. I contacted a small group of friends to help me pray for the unit's safety, for peace for the families here at home, and for comfort during this time of unknown. I needed peace of mind. I needed comfort. I needed to know that Chris was ok.

During Chris' last deployment, there was one time when communications were stopped. That one time was right after 2 soldiers were killed and 1 injured in a roadside bomb. All 3 were in Chris' unit. Words really can't express how hard that time was for me. All those feelings came rushing back today.

I don't want to feel that way again. I don't want to be afraid of strange cars coming down our street, and worry that they carry men in uniform that will come knocking at my door to tell me some horrible news.

This time things worked out ok. This time my hubby was fine. This time.

Even though all these thoughts were going through my mind at warp speed, I still felt like I was in God's hands. Instead of freaking out like I normally do, I started praying right away. God didn't take away my thoughts or make the situation go away but He DID give me peace in the middle of it all.

By the end of the evening I recieved another email saying that the blackout had been lifted (no reason was given for it being put in place) and that every soldier in Chris' unit was ok. Chris was even able to call us tonight. Oh how I loved hearing his voice!