Communication and understanding.
Have you ever said something that didn't come out right?  Did you ever hear something said that you misinterpreted?  Does this sound like  rehash of YOUR life?  Don' ya love all these questions?

While living in Las Vegas...actually IN Las Vegas, 100 Yale Street.  Our back yard faced the NEW Municipal Golf Course on the other side of Decatur Avenue, a four lane major street.  Pat was always concerned that she should be wearing a hard hat when hanging the clothes on the solar clothes drier we had strung out back.  We could have gone into the used golf ball business had we thought harder.  On our move in day, a realtor came to the door and asked if we wanted to sell our home!  Six months later, we sold it to her. Within that time Nevada's Right to Work status and the Union where I worked came into play.  One day at work, while starting up a smaller printing press (Chief 15 model, for those printers reading this) I inadvertently used my left hand to stop the machine. I got away this luck on my side this time.  My ring finger on my left had required 9 stitches and and my middle finger needed some pressure released behind the nail, and both became white gauze beacons for everyone to admire my carelessness.  A few weeks later, I was forced to find myself another job....at $2 less an hour.  The new place was much more pleasant to work, and I enjoyed the people there as well.  However, my family needed more security (I thought) and still being in the Navy Reserve, and Viet Nam going on, military life was again tugging at my inner being.  The military life had advantages of a sense of stability that no other place offers.  With my income now cut because I refused to join the union and pressure had been applied to the owner, after my accident I was let go (yes, I could have fought it, but this was in the late 60's), I thought Pat was wanting me to go back on Active duty, and of course that was ok with me. I was actually pretty ok with that idea because I was in my comfort zone there and liked the "family-ness" of it.  Eventually an opening on Active Duty was available and off I went on the USS BON HOMME RICHARD (CVA-31) to two tours of Viet Nam.  The Bonnie Dick was an Essex Class Air Craft Carrier. It had 3500 sailors aboard including the Air Wing.  Being a First Class Petty Officer, Lithographer, I was the Print Shop Supervisor and enjoyed my position and responsibilities as such.  During the second deployment things were getting a little old though.  I was starting to think that being away from Pat and the kids for these periods of time were not really the best thing, so decided NOT to re-enlist, which the time was coming up for.  Up to THAT moment, things were going fine...I was "one of the 'lifers'".  Once I made known my decision NOT to re-enlist, I more or less put myself on the blackball list of a civilian.  We were about to depart Yankee Station to go home anyway, so it wasn't too long before we would be back in San Diego.  We got word that the ship would be going to Bremerton, Washington after we got back to be de-commissioned, and I would be getting released back into the Reserve sector upon arrival.

Up to now, the only communication I had with Pat was via cassette tapes being mailed to and from the ship.  It was pretty crude and delayed communications back in those days.  I was pretty concerned that Pat may not have liked my decision to get off active service again...because I thought she wanted and needed the security of the service.  As it turns out, she thought that I wanted the security of the service and the challenges of profession.  When we finally got together upon my arrival, I discovered a very happy Pat and that of course made me very happy as well.   The communication had broken down, in this distant and time consuming process that we had to live with.  When we were able to sit down and communicate, I discovered that she was going along with what she thought I wanted, and I had made decisions on what I thought SHE wanted.  From that point on, we have made sure that when we talk (which is ALL the time) we understand each other.  Most times it has worked that way through the years.  Every once in a while there is a little hitch, but nothing serious enough to be any major problem.
Don't get me wrong though.  I loved the Navy, and did enjoy the military life style.  As you have read already, after this came some Army time and that too was an experience that comparatively few experience, and that I loved doing and being a part of.

Side note: Twenty years later I took a visit to the old neighborhood, you remember don't you?  100 Yale Street?  Those spindly little trees across the street in the NEW Muni Golf course are now big THICK and TALL trees.  The old house is a commercial building addressed on Decatur Ave.  Times do change don't they?

What's the point of this story?  Looking back on that, and how we do communicate, makes me think about our journey through life with our faith.  How are you at communicating with God?  Do you make an effort to understand what His love and desires for your happiness is?  Do you communicate what your wants, needs and thoughts are?

Do you pray often?  Or only when you want something?  Do you talk to God only when you get yourself into some kind of a challenge?  In any relationship, there has to be a healthy two way, get this now: TWO WAY conversation.   If Pat and I had had a TWO WAY Conversation, we would have understood each other more clearly.  Perhaps it wouldn't have changed anything at the beginning, but would have eliminated the stress of my decision between the decision and talking face to face with Pat when I got back.  As it was, things turned out well.  And the same can be yours as well with GOD.  Talking things out always helps in understanding.  Here's a suggestion: Try talking to God for a while and see how that works out for you.

Blessings,
Gary