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Eglin Air Force Base - Florida
Amy

My Life...
According to My Key Chain

Life in the military—especially the 'PCS season' portion of this lifestyle—can sometimes be encapsulated in a simple key chain. This is something that struck me during our most recent move from Incirlik Air Base, Turkey to Eglin AFB.

Life in Turkey was relatively simple. Choices were limited, shopping was limited, most folks only had one vehicle, and life mainly revolved around the small base community. My key chain was relatively sparse with only a house key, a key to my bike lock, and just one car key attached.

As we prepared for our PCS, the key chain began to become even more sparse. First, we shipped the van—and its keys. Then, when all of our household goods were packed into boxes—including my bike—the bike lock key disappeared. Finally, it was time to turn in the house keys in the AMC terminal on the morning we left. My key ring was officially, completely empty. No ties, no connections, no transportation, no lodging, absolutely free, and yet strangely unattached.

We were now free from many commitments we had held in our previous assignment. I no longer had a Palm Pilot full of obligations, scheduled meetings, appointments. There were no longer neighbors with whom to socialize or for whom to care. Friends were no longer easily accessible in any way. The slate was wiped clean. The key chain was empty.

Slowly, however, as the PCS experience progressed, the key chain again began to acquire new tenants. According to my key chain, I am now fully connected, fully loaded--two cars, a house in a gated community, many places to shop, and a place to get my exercise. The key chain must weigh at least half a pound. It is too big to fit into a pocket and takes up far too much space in my already cluttered purse. It had only been 2 months from the time we left our previous life and began anew, and already, at least according to my key chain, life was very full.

If only my life as a military spouse so quickly felt as full and complete as that weighty key chain rapidly became after our move. The keychain, however, is only the skeleton. The flesh and blood are slower to take form. The important elements of actually feeling at home in a new location—the connections of friendships, a sense of purpose from activities and organizations in which to involve myself, and a church family to call home—are always slower to evolve. The time of isolation, of disconnectedness, of soul-searching and resting in the presence of the Almighty can be so hard at times. But God, in His goodness and faithfulness and long-suffering, has been showing me that those lonely times are also necessary times of growing deeper in my walk with the Lord. They are times for the roots to sink down deeper in the Word of God, to draw sustenance from the One who called Himself the Bread of Life.

And so I learn to praise Him for both the empty keychain, signifying a place and a life left behind, and for the full keychain that precedes another chapter in this journey.