The Army Recruiter’s Wife’s Weblog

I thought about writing about what I’m thankful for or a little thanksgiving message for all of you – and then – life intervened and I thought that I would rather write something a little inspiring that would help us all see the rainbow at the end of the storm.

I’m sure most of you know the story of Noah and the Ark, or Noah and the Flood – it’s in the book of Genesis in the Old Testament. Well, I would like to give you a little different perspective on the story without the whole wrath of God part. Did you know that Noah was married? And that he had children? Well, he was married, and he did have children, he had three sons if I remember correctly.

Can you imagine the look on Mrs.Noah’s face the day her husband came to her and told her that he had a mission from God (that he couldn’t get out of) and then elaborated to her as to what all it entailed? Did she run screaming from their tent? No, she loved her husband – despite this crazy mission – and supported him (even though I’m sure she had some doubts). So, Mrs.Noah and the kids, packed their belongings up and followed Noah into an appointed place designated by God, and started their mission. I’m sure at first Mrs.Noah probably thought eventually the whole thing would fizzle out and that eventually they might be able to return to their “regular” lives, but it didn’t. So Noah got to work on making mission – ark built, animals collected, rations procured, and family on board – all in a set amount of time. In all of this where was Mrs.Noah and the family? Why they were in the background supporting Noah – doing what they needed to do to help out. So the day of the flood, everybody gets into the ark, and Noah knows he’s prepared and he’s done everything God stated in his orders, and they wait.

Then the flood comes. Forty days and forty nights of storming rain. They batten down the hatches and get ready for the ride. Life is turned upside down as the world floods and Mrs.Noah knows that her and her family are sailing in the ark and knowing they’re the only ones in the world left. I’m sure Mrs.Noah was thinking “what is going on?”, and frustration, uncertainty, doubt, and anxiety all set in. Probably the feeling that she has no one to reach out to to talk with about these events as well, also set in. But, she’s a good wife – she supports her husband and trusts him that the storm will only be forty days and forty nights.

Eventually, the storm does end. The sky clears and they open the hatches and they eventually see land. In the mean time – Noah and his family see a rainbow. The rainbow typically symbolizes the covenant that God had with Noah, but in this case – we’ll just consider it a sign of hope and a sign that things will get better after the storm. But then again – to each of us the rainbow can mean something totally unique to our lives.

Remember, that recruiting duty, it’s just a forty day/forty night storm in your life – eventually it too shall pass. The storm may be raging on the outside, but inside the ark – you do have some say as to how things go – even though it may be a bit of a zoo with all the activity. Even though we may not understand the mission or why our recruiter was picked – we support them – because that it part of the covenant we made with our spouses when we married them.

So, I guess what I’m saying is be thankful that there will be an end to recruiting duty, whether you just started, are en route, or at the end of your recruiting duty tour. Look forward to your rainbow, but remember to take care of everyone in the ark and know that you’re not alone – there are people out there floating around on their own arks and if you peek out every once in a while you might see one.

With that said – I wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving and hope you are enjoying the time with your recruiter!!

Brandy