Dear Welcome Home Initiative, #38
March 12-14 2020
I wanted to take a moment to thank you, sincerely, for the time, love, and devotion you each pour into WHI. The love of Christ is so mightily and readily visible in the actions and words of all those who worked diligently to make our experience at WHI in early 2020 life altering.
My husband and I have been married for nearly 19 years. In that time, he experienced 5 back-to-back combat deployments into Iraq. His dwell time at home was not one of peace nor relaxation; we knew before the end of the previous deployment he would be scheduled to redeploy again after several long and intense months of training.
The moral injuries my husband sustained were not often clear. On the surface, he mostly appeared okay, but there were often cracks to this delicately balanced exterior and unfortunately, the ones who often bore the brunt were myself or our family in general. It was easy to see he wasn’t coping well but I certainly wasn’t sure what to do to help him other than to try and love him through the hurt and pain.
As time passed, it became clear he was suffering from PTS, but as is often the case, seeking help on-post seemed difficult at times or terrifying for its own reasons. For a myriad of reasons, his pain and difficulty coping with his PTS finally became overwhelming and as it began to appear that hope was all but lost, a family member reached out and told me about this beautiful ministry we had never heard of.
Our time at WHI was one of incredible peace; this is not to say that there were also difficult and painful moments when we both had to come face to face with certain things, but there was always someone close by who understood what we were going through even if they hadn’t exactly walked our own unique steps. Support from fellow spouses for myself and fellow brothers-in-arms for my spouse was overwhelming and breathtaking. Support from the incredible volunteers at WHI was humbling and still brings me to tears.
I cannot express enough how grateful I am that we found you, WHI (and all of those behind and in front of the scenes supporting this ministry with your time, finances, creativity, talents, and love for us, people you had never previously met).
My sweet beau came back from WHI energized and full of HOPE, beautiful, peace-sustaining hope. He came home equipped in such a beautiful way that only God can craft to face group therapy and individual therapy while still donning his active duty uniform. I have seen him reference his time at WHI over and over, noting lessons learned from his time there and insight and support from his fellow attendees.
For myself, I remain eternally grateful that my husband is home and he’s safe and he’s continuing to heal. I am also grateful that I no longer carry this alone. It is a heavy load, one that was often invisible but overwhelming and so incredibly lonely. I see now that God was always with us, able and always willing to carry it for me, but I couldn’t see that without the love and support of the wonderful staff at WHI.
May God bless you all richly. May He continue to open doors and opportunities to welcome home our dear brothers and sisters who have worn the uniform for our country and borne such a heavy price.
I remain eternally grateful.
We love you.
-Laura (last name given)
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Healing Grace and Peace be with you, Fr. Nigel+