Thankfulness Day 6 - Thankful for PWOC

Today I am most thankful for PWOC (Protestant Women of the Chapel) and the ladies in it! Every week we meet for bible studies and fellowship, and the very large group is composed of fabulous ladies! Even before my cancer, they were a wonderful source of support, friendship, and Christian encouragement and growth, and PWOC is something that I get to look forward to weekly.

Sometimes military life can be difficult. And there can be a lot of drama between spouses, particularly here overseas where spouses aren’t permitted to work in the economy, their men are gone frequently, and there are few English speakers to socialize with beyond the bubble of the base.

There are also some rules in the military about whom one should and should not socialize with. Enlisted versus Officers, the various ranks in each of those categories, and then the stereotypes that come with assigned jobs/careers can all add challenges to relationships. One isn’t supposed to socialize with people too far above or below your position, etc. And despite those rules being for the military members themselves, it most definitely affects the spouses and their relationships as well.

PWOC is rather like an escape from all of that. We’re not there for military purposes, we are there for God. We’re there to grow, fellowship, and learn more from the Word and it does not matter whom you are or whom you are married to. It is also a drama free zone as it is composed of people with a different focus and priorities.

The bible studies and discussions have been amazing and excellent opportunities for growth in both wisdom and spirit. And now with my cancer, the women of PWOC have all truly blessed my family and I in ways we couldn't have expected.

One of my friends organized meals for us so that twice a week one of the ladies will bring us a meal, and let me tell you, those meals have been very helpful! My treatments can be time consuming (at least six hours daily), and my new diet means that I have to prepare diet specific meals for myself aside from my hubby and son (who has recently started eating solids). So that’s three different meals three times a day. No joke, the first week my new diet and treatments were in place, I fed my husband Brats for dinner 4 nights of that week. And just Brats, nothing else. He threw some mustard on them and didn’t complain, but it was easy to see how his diet was going to go downhill the following months.

Don’t get me wrong, my husband can fend for himself fairly decently, but after work he only has five hours of free time, which is stretched between working out (in order to keep up military physical standards), as well as his online college classes (which he couldn’t drop), as well as helping me with some of my treatments much less spending quality time with our LO. The meals have been a huge blessing because that guarantees that he’ll have good food at least twice a week, and it saves us a vast amount of time not having to plan, shop, prep, cook, and clean up.

These women have also been on board with me from the start and have been nothing but supportive and helpful during this journey. They provide me with continued encouragement and growth, verses and prayers, and many of my kind friends have taken my LO for a couple hours so I can attempt to catch up on life amidst this craziness. My family and I have been reaping the benefits of their servant's hearts and we are so very thankful for them!