Day 94: It's the Final Countdown ...

Soldiers love a good countdown. I'm not talking about Casey Kasem's American Top 40 (though who didn't love that?). No, they countdown the days left on deployment ... or in this case, the days left of training. But like everything else in the military, there is a protocol. The way soldiers in the Army countdown is by the number of full days left + the day one wakes up to the event itself. For instance, those of us currently at CH-BOLC only have "4 days and a wake up" left until we graduate. F-O-U-R! Hard to believe.

For those of you who have (or will) flood me with questions about the what's next part, here's what I know now (Lord willing and the creek don't rise):

• Friday, April 9th I graduate from the Basic Course at the Chaplain School in Ft. Jackson, SC.
• Monday, April 12th I return to my civilian job and officially begin my new assignment serving the 151st Chemical Battalion in Gadsden, AL. (I'm still in the National Guard so it does NOT mean I will be moving. It just means this is the unit I will drill with monthly and serve whenever needed.)
  
• Approximately one year from now, I will graduate from seminary and officially access as a Chaplain.

Beyond that, I have no idea. Let's face it, none of us even knows what tomorrow holds so to ask about whether I'll do this or that down the road is a moot point. The Lord knows and I know Him, so I'll know when He wants me to know. In the meantime, I am trying to savor where He has me now and let that be enough!

I'll leave you with this new favorite song of mine by Francesca Battistelli.
The lyrics seem quite appropriate for my life. And if God is keeping you guessing about the plans He has for your life, you will especially enjoy this too!

Keeping Me Guessing

Coffee cup waking me up
I’ve got to board a plane
And fly away

Sometimes I feel like I’m going the speed of light
Can’t relax I’m moving too fast
I want to find the gold but I don’t have a map
I wish that I could know what you’ve got in store for me

I try and try
To read your mind
‘Cause I forget that patience is a virtue
You’re teaching me to hold on tight

‘Cause I don’t know how the story ends
But I’ll be alright ‘cause You wrote it
I don’t know where the highway bends
But I’m doing just fine
‘Cause You’re in control
Even when I don’t know
Where my life’s gonna go
You’re keeping me guessing

So slow me down
Show me around
I want to see the world
That I’ve been without
I am here and now
The future is out of my hands

‘Cause I don’t know how the story ends
But I’ll be alright ‘cause You wrote it
I don’t know where the highway bends
But I’m doing just fine
‘Cause You’re in control
Even when I don’t know
Where my life’s gonna go
You’re keeping me guessing

I’m trusting you
And how you move
I won’t forget that patience is a virtue
You’re teaching me to hold on tight

Seasons come
And seasons go
But you decide