“It’s My Calling!”

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.  It is the Lord Christ you are serving. — Colossians 3:23

You know how these things happen—you start a new project and begin “tuning in” to new information and contacts so that you can get started on the right foot. That’s exactly what happened, and it was all God. The prayer group I was in that day in 2007 asked how they could pray for me—and I mentioned that my husband and I were starting work on a new Bible study about deployment. I asked for prayer for God’s leading in the right directions so that the material we would put into the study would be honoring to Him and helpful to our military couples who have been stretched and stressed by the global war on terror.

The next thing said in our prayer group, by our Executive Director’s wife, was a suggestion that we read an article in the April, 2007, Command magazine by Anne Borcherding called “Share My Calling.” Turns out that Anne is the daughter of a co-worker, so it wasn’t going to be difficult to contact her if we thought that the material in her article would be relevant to the deployment Bible study.

We did what was suggested. We got a copy of the Command magazine published by Officer’s Christian Fellowship and went about lining up a time to interview Mrs. Borcherding. We had the sense that this was going to be something crucial to our study, so we wanted to make sure that we fully understood her perspective. “Share My Calling” begins with Anne telling the reader about a conversation she had with her husband, Rob: “‘This isn’t just a job for me. This is my calling, and I need you to share my calling.’ As he described his commitment to the Army, my husband’s voice was filled with emotion. It grabbed my attention. Rob and I were attending an intensive marriage retreat before the first of three deployments to Iraq. God opened my eyes that day to an essential element of both Rob’s service in the military and our marriage.”

My husband and I were drawn in to the truth in this article. This was important. “Share My Calling” went on to include a description of Anne’s struggle with understanding her husband’s devotion to military duty . . . . and her role in all of that. Anne wrote, “I did not immediately embrace the idea of shared calling. It was a process. Initially I thought, ‘I love my husband, I am there for him, but the military is his calling not mine.’ However, God began to open my eyes to a different outlook.” Her writing contained a definition of “calling” and also four ways in which God revealed to her, over time, how He wanted her to be obedient to His purpose for their marriage: by examining her attitude, by recognizing the link between her husband’s profession and his identity, by remembering God’s purpose for marriage, and by reflecting on her biblical role as a helper to her husband. Next she summarized six tough questions, with biblical answers, which she worked through in order to further analyze this whole issue of her husband’s noble calling to military service—and what it meant to her as a wife.

Our co-authors, Keith and Sharon Morgan, agreed that this mention of shared calling should be a part of our HomeBuilders deployment Bible study, Making Your Marriage Deployment Ready. We deemed it so pivotal that we put it into the very first chapter. You see, this matter is at the very core of some struggles being experienced in military marriages today (“I didn’t sign up for this!!”) Our decision was validated by feedback from our field test groups. It turns out that the two-page section in Session One of Making Your Marriage Deployment Ready resonated with several of the spouses, and they heartily endorsed it to be included in the final draft.

Here are the discussion questions we ask on pages 13-14 of Making Your Marriage Deployment Ready after explaining the topic:

— Have you ever considered your military service as a “calling”?

— At this point in your marriage, would you say you have a “shared calling” to the military? Is that something you’ve even thought about?

— If you were to have a shared calling, how do you think that would affect the way you view deployment?

What happened in Rob & Anne Borcherding’s life after she prayed and worked through this personal challenge? “Believing God to be true to His Word, I chose to join Rob in his call to military service. Life has not magically become easier. His three trips to Iraq didn’t just fly by, and feelings of frustration haven’t disappeared. But, I have a new-found desire to serve, love, and minister to the military community. I am far less irritated by, and more supportive of, the demands his job places on him. My better attitude has also brought a surprise added benefit—an improved relationship with my husband!”

But that’s not the end of Anne’s story, because it has now been included in a new book entitled Thriving, Not Just Surviving. Recently published by Officers Christian Fellowship (OCF), this book contains many first-hand stories of victorious living during deployment in the power of the Holy Spirit. Because of the new book, Anne’s God-given wisdom is now being shared with many who will gain encouragement from what we know as 2 Corinthians 1:16 truth: “All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us.” (from The Message)

We were delighted by the numerous divine appointments during our two-year writing process—researching Making Your Marriage Deployment Ready—and we know that it was His hand that led all the way. Across our nation, military couples shared with us their stories of God’s provision and God’s peace during deployment. It is true that God answers prayers—in ways that astound. To God be the Glory!

Work cited:

Beyer, Barbara, editor, Thriving, Not Just Surviving: Deployment Perspectives for Today’s Military Families (Englewood: Officers’ Christian Fellowship, 2008).

Questions to Share:

1. What part has God played in your decision to join the military or to remain in military service?

2. Pray together for opportunities to minister to others who are experiencing deployment. Serving others is one way in which we can take the focus off of ourselves and on to a higher purpose of the military calling.