A Little Too Close to Home

It's awfully hard to come up with appropriate titles for posts like this. Fact of the matter is, one of my best friends on the planet is about to hug her eldest son for the last time before he deploys to the Middle East. Brock and our son Ben were best friends when they were younger. Thus, "a little too close to home" . . . yet even using that cliché seems awfully selfish at a time like this. When a mom is watching her child leave for a war-torn region on the other side of the globe.

I adore Teresa Nardozzi. She is my friend, my "sistah" in the Lord, my soul-sister (we talk and pray about everything), and for many years, she was also my neighbor, living just two houses down and across the street when we lived in Florida. Teresa & her husband Bill have three boys - Brock, Bryant, & Brice. Brock is the same age as our son Ben and the two of them were best buds for all those years. The picture below was taken a lifetime ago when they were in 6th grade (Brock on the left, Ben on the right.)

When did these guys grow up? When did their voices change? When did they trade in their bicycles for sports cars and pickup trucks? When did they start shaving and talking about girls? When did they start making the tough decisions life throws them? Teresa, where did our little boys go?

Well, they became men. And now Brock is serving his country in the U.S. Army. I've had lots of friends whose kids serve in the military, some who've fought in the wars of the last decade. But this is the first time someone truly close to me has dealt with this kind of separation. The kind that puts an entire ocean between her and her son with lots of scary stuff in the mix.

I can't even imagine.

I'm finding my heart so terribly heavy for Brock as he leaves in a few days and for Teresa as she has to let him go. That's never easy for us moms, no matter how old we are or how old they are. Meaning, if this were my Ben leaving for this particular destination, I'd be a basket case. I'm not sure how I'd even be functioning. But Teresa is way stronger than I am. She may just be the strongest woman I know. She's a rock with such an incredible and contagious faith in God. She knows God's arms will be wrapped securely around Brock no matter what happens. And she knows God will keep her and Bill in His embrace as well.

Still, it's gotta be hard. So for all of you moms and dads who felt your heart break as your sons or daughters headed overseas, I want to lift you up and ask God's special presence in your life today. I'm asking Him to grant you a peace that can only come from the Almighty . . . until your loved one returns home, safe and sound.

Teresa, I've got your back, girl! I love you, friend.

Brock, thank you for serving your country. Thank you for the sacrifices you're making, when you'd probably rather be doing a thousand other things than heading "over there." May you feel all the prayers of those who love you, each and every day. May you sense God's presence every moment of every day. And may you know how we'll all be counting the days until He returns you safely to us.

Godspeed, Specialist Brock Nardozzi. Stay safe, buddy.