Finding Joy In Unexpected Challenges Guest Post by Hope N Griffin

As you know I LOVE sharing and talking about the awesome stuff going on in other people’s lives! Fellow military spouse and author Hope Griffin is doing some great stuff and I’m excited that she took time out of her busy schedule to write a piece for the Direction Diva tribe about the inspiration for her upcoming book Finding Joy! Be sure to get the book, check out her blog and connect on social media – you’ll thank me later!! 

Life never turns out as we expect. Growing up, no matter how many tv shows I watched or novels I read where the plot pivoted on an unexpected challenge, I somehow missed this. Frodo only finds an adventure when danger is presented. Disney and Shakespeare survive on plot lines of falling in love with the wrong person. Harry Potter would be nothing without the trials of Voldermort.

I had the perfect plan for my life. The idea was to go to seminary, start a family, write, and work full time in ministry. I wanted to change the world, and I wanted to start by emulating Amy Carmichael in India rescuing children from temple prostitution.

It didn’t work out quite as I expected.

First plot twist was our daughter’s cancer. At 6 months old she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called Retinoblastoma. We were introduced into a new life, a new fear, and a network of loving nurses and doctors at St. Jude Children’s Hospital. You can read more of our cancer story here.

The second plot twist, and the succession of those that followed, began the day my husband came home and told me he was enlisting. I had plans. My plans involved traveling the world on mission trips, telling the world the good news of Jesus. My husband had a calling, to serve his country. So I begrudgingly packed my bags and followed with baby three on the way. We’ve been at Ft. Bliss in El Paso, TX ever since. You can read more of our journey at Ft. Bliss here. 

Cancer and military life were not on my bucket list. Both plot twists disorientated me and left me feeling lost. But I wasn’t. There was a purpose and plan for my life as well and those plot twists were just part of the journey in finding them.

Long distance marriage (whether brought on by the military, health challenges, careers, etc.) are challenging but they are not hopeless. My desire in writing Finding Joy: The Year Apart That Made Me A Better Wife is to walk alongside other spouses who feel alone and whisper into their darkness that they are not. Purpose and passion is attainable. Using the stories of those who have gone before us in Scripture and in History my goal is to bring encouragement and hope to everyone who picks up this book.

I would love to hear your stories, to know where you are in your journey and what plot twists have been added along the way.

Hope’s new book FINDING JOY is now available on Kindle and you can pre-order your copy for the Oct release HERE

 

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Bio 

As Fort Bliss Military Spouse of the Year 2015, Hope N. Griffin writes about her experience as a military spouse. Hope has an MABS from Dallas Theological Seminary. She writes for various online magazines and blogs, both fiction and nonfiction. Currently, Hope serves as the Director of Family Ministries at First Presbyterian in El Paso, TX. Her free time is spent loving on her children, volunteering, and drinking coffee on the back porch with her soldier.

The post Finding Joy In Unexpected Challenges Guest Post by Hope N Griffin appeared first on Judy Davis The Direction Diva.