I just finished Ombudsman training last week. Whew, what a week it was. I had training every night from 5:30- 9:30, and the topics that we discussed were so beyond anything I even anticipated. I am by no means a new Navy wife, hubby has been in for 13 years, and I have been "in" with him, for 8, (9 actually, but I feel guilty counting school time...) yet even I was surprised by how much more that I could learn.
I realized that accepting this responsibility would be a big job, but I had no idea how big. One night, our instructor came in, slammed the door and YELLED," This is an emergency, there's a submarine down, presumed LOST." That is the moment that it hit me, if the unimaginable happened, I would be one of the first people to get that call. That was a really hard pill for me to swallow.
You may be wondering what all this has to do with faith and trust. Well, it was actually my graduation ceremony from Ombudsman training that got me thinking about this. Our boat's captain was there to see me graduate, and my husband and children were there as well. After the ceremony, the Captain gave me a Commanding Officer coin with our ship's logo on it, a token for accepting this responsibility. Collecting this coins is the new "thing" around here - it's a really big deal to receive one.
My husband received a coin the same night. Now, here's what got me thinking, he received his coin for a years worth of very hard work. I received mine for what the captain believes I WILL do. It's daunting when you think about that. My husband earned his coin, I haven't yet. Our captain has every reason to trust in my husband's duty, devotion, hard work and ability. All he is going on with me is faith.
It's my job to help take care of all the families on our boat while our sailors are deployed, and knowing just a little about me, our captain put his faith in me. It's humbling. I truly hope that I will live up to his expectations and give him reason to trust in my ability, as my husband has. I hope that I will make my husband proud, but most of all, I hope that I will be able to help those that need it when the time comes.
I'm praying that won't be at 3 am to a phone call saying that something terrible has happened to our boat. Scary.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Faith Vs. Trust
Posted by snowflake at 6:15 AM
Labels: military life, ramblings, thoughts, what have I gotten myself into?
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4 comments:
Congrats, Snow! And I know you - you will handle this responsibility like you handle everything else, with grace, style, and empathy. You'll be great.
congrats on the ombudsman training! that's wonderful :)
It's hard when you know that you're going to be one of the first people getting that late night phone call if something happens. But it sounds like you'll know what to do, and have the compassion and ability to handle it beautifully. Here's hoping you never have to prove it, though!
I'm proud of you, you know that, right? Hugs!
What an honor to receive the coin! You do know why he gave it to you right?
Because you have the kind of character and faith to take care of those families. I have seen you take care of "our family" of moderators and see that we are all well. I know the idea of getting a call, from anyone, is scary but Snow... you are a strong woman - your husband sees that and so does the captain. I know I'm not a navy wife, but I had a brief taste of it, and you can do this.
I am so proud of you!
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