Interview with Wives of Faith Founder Sara Horn Pt. 2

Continued from the 1st part here.

Winter: When you first created Wives of Faith what were your goals with the group and how have they changed from the start?

Sara: When we first started WoF, we did it with three goals in mind: connecting, encouraging, and supporting military wives. Our intention is for it to be a group for military wives regardless whether you're going through a deployment or not, but we usually see most of our active members when they're going through deployments and I've noticed in our local chapters that they run in cycles based on deployment. In our first group, we had a mix of Reserve/Guard and active duty wives who were in Nashville living with their families while their husbands were gone. In addition to monthly meetings, we met once a week at a local McDonald's with a playland because many of the ladies had small children and weren't working. Those were really fun times.

Now that we're in our third year of doing this, we've expanded our online presence and I would say it has grown quicker than our local chapters. Women are very busy, with families and all of the other things we juggle, and sometimes it's hard to make it to a meeting. That's one reason we've started doing video lessons online, basically taking the topics I speak on and putting them on our blog so anyone can be involved. Our goal is still to connect, encourage and support, but our mission has been refined. This is our mission statement: As Wives of Faith, we seek to encourage spiritual growth in all military wives. We are a place of refuge and peace, a place where wives can find connections with others and grow in their walks with God as they face the challenges of military life.

Something that has surprised me is the number of active military wives who contact us about getting connected or starting a local chapter. I always thought that Reserve/Guard wives would get more out of our group than active just because there are more of them who aren't directly connected to a military installation and the support that's usually a part of that. But what we're finding is that active wives are looking for the faith-based support just as much. WoF is different from other military groups, I suppose, because we have the freedom to leave our husbands rank at the door. In fact, we don't really talk about our husbands except when it comes to missing them, or if there are frustrations in the marriage. The military wife is there for everyone else; our group is there for her. We also stay very positive, always focusing on the fact that there is hope, because when you have Christ in your life, you always have hope.

Winter: As a wife of a military man what struggles did you face when your husband deployed and how did it impact your family?

Sara: Probably the biggest struggle was dealing with loneliness, especially at night, after I'd tuck my little boy in bed. I hated heading to my bedroom by myself. Sleep was hard sometimes. Summer time was also the hardest--at least during the school year we had a set routine, but the summer was a lot more difficult. But I learned some valuable lessons. I spent most of that deployment trying to be strong, when really I should have leaned more on God instead. That experience led me to write the book GOD Strong: Spiritual Truths Every Military Wife Should Know (Zondervan) which will be coming out at the end of this year, or early next.

We're expecting my husband to deploy again soon, possibly at the end of April, and I hope that I'll use this deployment to grow deeper in my faith and my walk with God while encouraging other wives to do the same.

Winter: I attended most of my Family Readiness Group (FRG) meetings, and I noticed a decidedly lack of confidence in many of the wives there. When they saw how I seemed to cope better some asked and I'd point blank tell them it was because of my faith. FRG's are non-faith based, so sharing our faith is more difficult. Do you find women that attend the WoF meetings prefer to be there than with their local FRG's because it's easier to share on common ground?

Sara: This is a really great question, and the answer is Yes. First, as I said before, we leave rank out, and because our groups are made up of so many different units and branches, women aren't worried that something they say might impact their husbands. This is all about them.

And yes, being able to share a common belief in Christ is huge for those who come, and the women who have found us on Facebook and through our monthly newsletter. We're able to remind each other not just to be strong, but to seek our strength from God. We encourage each other not to "hang in there," but to grow our relationships with God. We know not to just pray for each other, but how to pray for each other.

I have only had a little bit of experience with other wives in my husband's unit when we've had pre and post-deployment briefings, but I've heard from many others who experience FRG culture regularly and they've described the difference with WoF as "refreshing," "positive," "a big hug."

Winter: Sara, thank you. You can learn more about Wives of Faith at their website and blog. You can view the videos Sara talked about on the blog.