With all of this being said it brought to mind a few things for me. The first is specific to my husband. So he feels "at home" when he is serving his country. When he puts in time for the military it goes well beyond just doing time. He "sacrifices" many things. He has missed birthdays, graduations, weddings, anniversary's, funerals, etc... these are just the big sacrifices. Those things that you can't go back and re-live. However, because of his passion and the knowledge that he is "at home" during these times, doing what he loves, he makes the sacrifice. It's the path that was chosen for him, I believe before he was even born. He tried to stay off the path during his time between being in the Marines and joining the National Guard but ultimately he knew he wanted to be a part of something bigger than himself and something that was a true "calling" for him.

I think my husband is pretty lucky that he is and has been in tune with what path he belongs on. Yep, I just wrote that out loud! I am happy for my husband that he found his path in the military. Wow that was almost really liberating!

As I posted yesterday about my desire to help others by sharing my personal experiences when I focused in on those moments that I truly felt "at home" with what I was doing, I asked myself if I would eagerly sacrifice to make that happen. The truth of the matter is that I would and already have to some degree. I sacrificed so much time to getting my book written and certainly sacrificed financially to get it published. I sacrificed time away from my family to speak to military wives in order to share my experience and I would do all of that and more to continue to follow that path. 

Oprah talks about finding your way to your path and how your life experiences "prepare" you for your journey. She believes that the moment you find your way and start walking that path is when "preparation meets opportunity". When I think about the preparations I know I have much to draw from that goes well beyond any deployment I have lived through. 

It started when I was very young. I was shy, overweight and had such a lack of self esteem and confidence that I chose to build my life around these negative aspects rather than decide to rise above them. I choose to call it "divine intervention" that turned me into a whole new person that is not only able have confidence in her abilities, but who turned these negative traits into lessons that could be shared. I went from being someone who would only talk to strangers if they asked me a question (and would always be praying they wouldn't ask), to a person who not only offers her thoughts and opinions but enjoys encouraging and teaching others who have lived or are currently living a life of insecurity and being paralyzed by their fear of reaching outside of their comfort zone to truly learn who they are and what they are capable of being. I feel strongly that I am getting closer to my path and am now just looking for my "preparations" to meet the "opportunity" so that I can start my journey.

I know the work I have been doing in my writing is also a necessary step towards being "prepared" and this blog has been my "opportunity" to reach out to others who may be learning right along with me or perhaps something I have written may resonate with them in some way. But the bottom line is that I am doing to work. I sacrifice my time every day to make sure I write and I always take something away from it. So whether I am writing for myself, or someone actually reads my posts and it helps them in some way, it was worth the time and energy I put in. 

Now that the "big picture" is starting to come into focus, I know there will be much more reflection, more questions to ask of myself and hopefully some insightful discoveries along the way. I can honestly say now that I get excited just thinking that I may be on my way to figuring out what I want to be when I grow up!

Lesson for the Day: I learned that I am able to not only acknowledge my husband's career in the military but I can actually be happy for him that he found it! I also learned that "writing it out" is not only going to help me tune into the path I should be following, but in a sense by the actual writing I am already on that path, even if only taking baby steps for now.

Wishing you happiness, hope and light!

Until next time,

Laura D.