PCS - Presently in Chaos and Stress

"PCS" in army lingo means permanent change of station, or at least I think that's what it means. I think it SHOULD mean "Presently in Chaos and Stress". That way whenever anyone asks what's going on and you reply - "We're 'PCSing'" - they immediately know that things will not be done on time, to completion, or even with any sense of normalcy. In other words, chaos is our status and unless you're here to fix that, move back before you get hurt in the crossfire. And yes, my husband, our two boys and I are about to PCS. It's been long awaited and very welcomed as our new orders will get him out of the current cycle of year long deployments. After 3 tours in Iraq we are ready for a break, and I know my boys are ready to have their dad around for more than a year at a time. However, no matter how "welcome" the PCS is, it always comes with chaos and stress. That's where we are...chaos and stress. I've been praying daily for the grace to get through each day and more so to get through this move. It's the first big move we've made in a long time so there's lots of things to do... closets to clean, maintenance issues to resolve, records to get copied...all while "normal life" continues to tick by. That's just on this end. Then we've got to find a place to live, schools for the kids, doctors, hairdressers (one of the most difficult things to leave if you ask me), dentists, music lessons, little leagues.... the list never ends. BUT... today I forgot to pray. This isn't unusual for me. I very often get up and start my day without first thanking God for giving me another day. I am ashamed to admit it, but I can easily get through a day without giving God a second thought. It is one of my many spiritual weaknesses. And today God called me on it. Usually in this level of stress my husband and I would be at each other's throats on a regular basis, but I've been sporadically participating in the Love Dare (not how you should do it, but I guess some is better than none) and I have been better about daily prayer, even multiple times through the day. When I failed to follow that path this morning God reminded me with a simple little blow up between my husband and myself - over NOTHING. The blow up was truly meaningless. It's even over, almost as quickly as it started. The Love Dare helped with that. I had the grace to bite my tongue and not pick at a laundry list I usually have tucked away in a back corner of my brain for just that special occasion. I think my husband did the same. He went to work, and very soon after I had a text message - "Love you..." Guess God was tapping me (us) on the shoulder to remind me what I'd forgotten, and that He'd been there to help manage the "Presently in Chaos and Stress" so far and He wasn't going anywhere. We have a trip planned for San Antonio soon to work out some of these details. I pray that I will remember to pray throughout the trip and the rest of the "PCS". I love my husband and I love our military life, I'm just not so thrilled with the chaos and stress it creates sometimes.