PWOC...Oh, the Army's acronyms

Today one of my new found Chaplain's wife friends and I (and our kids) went to the Protestant Women of the Chapel (PWOC) Bible study this morning and had a great time. Today was called “Tea and Testimony Time”. They sat us at tables and each table had a “hostess” who had brought her own teacups and saucers as well as china pitchers and we each had a different flavor of tea packet in our cups. I was blessed to have a Vanilla Chai packet in my cup (my favorite)! We had a time of worship at the beginning and then several other worship songs were sung throughout. They gave out awards and nice bags to many of the ladies who had served or led Bible studies. This was the last meeting for this semester, so several of the ladies got up and gave a testimony about what PWOC had done for them or meant to them this year. One lady testified that through PWOC, she had come to know Christ and eventually her husband did too. He has now been sober for 9 months through the power of Christ and her life has been totally changed through the relationships she made at PWOC. That one made me cry, just being reminded that God is still powerful enough to change lives. Amen! "On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand..." They also had a change of command, so to speak, as the officers (i.e. president, vice-president) for the ’08-’09 year were retired to make way for the officers for the ’09-’10 year. The dynamic of the group is so diverse and multi-cultural. I saw several of the Chaplain’s wives there I had previously met. There are retiree spouses, widows, active duty spouses, and even some non-military spouses. It is pretty much like any other group you might find in a church setting – young, old, hurting, babes in Christ, mature, etc. We just all share a common bond through our spouses (and in some cases friends) who are in the military. I really enjoyed it and the atmosphere was so welcoming. It was a breath of fresh air to be in that kind of setting after being away from our home church so long. In her testimony, one of the ladies spoke about letting go of the facade of control that so many of us moms and wives think we have over our own lives...and give total control to God. Stop worrying about what you can't control and start channeling your energy toward what you can control...which is really only yourself. With the Army, unpredictability is the norm. Unfortunately for me, I am a planner extrordinaire and I know that will be a tough struggle. The lady who spoke said, women outside the military face this too, they just don't have any one thing to blame it on like we do... the Army! :) But despite the way it seems, Jesus still commands my destiny. The Army may look like they give the orders but as the Scripture says "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps" Proverbs 16:9. We are never outside of his control or concern.