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By Brenda Pace
 Summer for the military community means PCS time has arrived. Permanent Change of Station orders can bring high excitement and high anxiety. Moving is not one of the top choices I would make for fun family activities! However, there are lessons that can be gleaned from the experience.
When my husband entered the Army, we had already made seven moves on our own. Whether it was a move from one apartment to another across town, or a move across country, we decided quickly it was not among our most favored activities.
The news that Uncle Sam would send a packing crew to pack us up and move us out made my husband’s military choice a great one in my book!
Our packing day arrived, and I was impressed with the packing crew in their neat little jumpsuits and professional manner. I commented to myself how sharp and knowledgeable they were. They were doing me such a grand favor, and I was thrilled.
We finally arrived at our first duty station in Fort Benning, Georgia. After several weeks of waiting in the military guesthouse, we signed for a beautiful set of historic quarters there at the home of the Army Infantry. Life was good!
Then I began unpacking those sharp and perfect boxes, packed by those sharp and professional packers. Imagine my horror when I found garbage! THEY PACKED MY GARBAGE! One box held rotten bananas, a moldy milk encrusted baby bottle, and more disgusting waste and rubbish. Unbelievable!
Looking back on this, I have to smile. I was so thrilled with the fact I did not have to pack and move myself, and so impressed with the snappy dressed movers, that I failed to see what was being packed.
So what garbage do I continue to pack and box up in my inner life? We often think that things will get better with the next move. However, too often we just pack up the same problems and bring them along. Eventually that box will be opened, and the stench of the rubbish will become apparent again.
If you find yourself in this place, I encourage you to find help. Often we need more than church attendance or family involvement to face the garbage that is packed in our lives. That’s why military chaplains are available for counseling or can direct you to professional help. And ministries like MOPS exist to make a difference when you are unable to help yourself.
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV
What have you learned from your military moves? Share your experiences with other moms on the Military MOPS forum!
Brenda Pace has been a military wife for twenty-two years. Her Army chaplain husband just returned home after an eight-month deployment with the 82d Airborne Division, and they are in the middle of yet another move. Brenda is the past president of Protestant Women of the Chapel-USA and is currently serving as a national advisor for this military ministry.
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