You may recall we left off with Clark's Family Day. When I think of his Marine Corps Boot Camp Graduation, I always think of Family Day. Perhaps because graduation was a blur to me, partially because I was a bit angry at this and that, and I didn't want to focus on it. So, let's not focus on the negatives but the positives.

Clark's graduation was very inspiring. It was the moment in his Marine Corps career that I was the proudest. They played the anthem, told us history, and handed out awards to the battalions and individuals for this and that.

This was still very early in our marriage. I constantly felt like I was battling my in-laws for my rights as a wife. I know we eloped, and both of our parents weren't quite ready to see us as a couple over their individual children. This, sadly, was a situation where I felt like I was fighting to come first in Clark's life. I wasn't fighting him on it, mind you, but his parents.

When we first arrived for the graduation we were sitting in rather poor spots in the bleachers. I really wanted to try to move closer, and knew that Clark's grandparents got handicap seats which meant that one of us could be down there with them. Of course I offered, but Clark's dad insisted on sitting with them. That's only natural, since they are his parents. Well, as graduation began, my mother-in-law said she'd be right back and went to sit with my father-in-law and her in-laws. I was left with Clark's younger siblings, in the bleachers, struggling to see.

I wasn't a very happy camper.

I know it's petty, and looking back on it now I see that it wasn't that big of a deal. At the time, though, it really felt like I was being shorted.

When the ceremony ended and the Marines were released, I saw Clark looking around. I nearly bolted down the bleachers. He saw his parents moving in, but looked to me and came to me first. He even pointed out that he did it. He said he saw them sitting closer to him during the ceremony, but he wanted to share it with me.

It was for us. For our family.

I was so proud of him.


Graduation began our ten days together. Moments where we would have to turn down going to Hawaii with his family (that's another story) to look for a new place to live and enjoy our limited time together before he left for more training. It all worked out in the end. Clark was with me again. I wasn't going to let anything spoil our time together.

This was a time I really had to learn to depend on God to see me through things. Not just because my husband was gone a lot, but because I was really growing up and coming into my own. I had to learn to let go of my anger with people and focus on the positives. God was providing and seeing us through. Not only that, but he was helping us grow together as husband and wife. We were facing trials with family, life, and more that we would not have made it through if we hadn't been focusing on God and our relationship with him as a couple.