“Wheels up” and “underway” are terms used by military personnel to describe that time when the plane is in the air or the ship is out to sea. Now the deployment countdown can really begin. For Moses and the Israelites the term could have been “Roll out” to mean it was time to roll the wheels of the carts out of Egypt and into the desert.

A core theme of the journey the Israelites took out of Egypt is that of leaving an undesirable situation for one that is better. You may say, “I don’t need to leave an unacceptable situation and go to something better. I certainly do not see deployment that way. Deployment is the undesirable situation!”

I get it! But, what if you could view this time when your husband is away as a time to make something better? Is there anything you can leave—something you are accustomed to that you could improve? Might this be a time to become healthier? Could you use some of the extra deployment pay to pay off debt? What special memories can you make with your children? In other words, what can you do that does not just pass the time, but actually brings improvement to your life?

Historians record the exodus as the time when the Hebrews gained their freedom. While that is true, their exit was not to gain freedom for freedom’s sake. Their exit was to gain freedom to worship and serve the Lord. Their exit gave them an opportunity to expand the name of the Lord. Their exit was an opportunity for God to teach them about himself and their relationship with him.

Consider planning your own “Wheels Up/Underway” Day. Make the day of departure a day to do something positive. Start “Day One” with a good choice. How might deployment be a time to make a major positive change in your life? In a spiritual sense, how might you serve the Lord during this time of deployment? How might you “expand the name of the Lord” during deployment?

Stories before bedtime, prayers at meals, when you put up or take down your Christmas tree, certain things you do on a family vacation, are rituals. Rituals form family identity. Rituals give us a sense of belonging and make us feel safe.

As the Israelites left Egypt, God directed Moses to initiate specific rituals by way of feasts and festivals. To this day, the Jewish faith observes these rituals, thus emphasizing the importance of remembrance and the value of tradition. Such rituals help create meaning and structure in life.

Rituals can help you navigate a successful deployment. They can act as the glue that keeps you connected to your husband, family, friends, and God. For the military family walking through deployment, rituals can serve as a bridge that narrows the distance. In a practical way, they can:

• Strengthen family connections
• Give children a sense of security by knowing what to expect, and when
• Give a family its own personality and sense of being unique and special
• Reinforce a family’s values
• Help family members cope during challenging times.

Deployment is not a time to suspend family rituals, but to continue them and even come up with some new ones to practice during separation. Remember that the ritual comes in the actual doing of an activity. The ritual is the act. Moses did not just tell the people to remember; the remembering was in the act of the feasts and festivals God had him establish.

What are some of your family rituals? How do these strengthen your relationships? What are some rituals of faith you can establish during this time of deployment?

Stories before bedtime, prayers at meals, when you put up or take down your Christmas tree, certain things you do on a family vacation, are rituals. Rituals form family identity. Rituals give us a sense of belonging and make us feel safe.

The Israelites left Egypt, but the direction God sent them was neither the fastest, nor the easiest. Scripture tells us God led them by way of an unexpected route to protect them. He knew armies would attack and such direct conflict would surely bring discouragement.

Kristen Welch writes about such unexpected detours in her book Rhinestone Jesus:

…I think most of us view roadblocks in our path of life as setbacks. These obstacles alter our journeys and leave us discouraged. But God provides detours if we pay attention. When we choose to see His alternate route as an opportunity for something new rather than a dead end, it shifts our perspective.

We have to be careful not to discount a detour. Instead, look to see if the detour is actually something God is doing because he knows what is best. Though we may never know the precise timing in all these things, we can have confidence that God knows how to work all things together for our good.

Just because the road is more difficult does not mean it is not God’s best way. Think about the difficulty of childbirth, or getting in shape. Such challenges are painful, but can end up producing good in and for us. Deployment can certainly be a painful, out of the ordinary situation; but if God is involved, the chances of it being something good are much better!

Stories before bedtime, prayers at meals, when you put up or take down your Christmas tree, certain things you do on a family vacation, are rituals. Rituals form family identity. Rituals give us a sense of belonging and make us feel safe.

In what ways is it difficult for you to view deployment or other challenging situations as something God can use for good? Can you think of times in your life when a detour ended up being a blessing?

It is tempting to overlook a seemingly odd and morbid passage of Scripture that talks about carrying a bag of bones on a journey, but that would be a mistake. This little verse tucked into Exodus 13 has great meaning. This little verse is a statement of connection. It connects the past to the present and the present to the future. This little verse is a statement that lets us know this exodus out of Egypt is part of God’s larger plan for the Israelites.

The book of Exodus is a continuation of the story started in Genesis. God delivered his people out of bondage not because they deserved it, but because of a promise made to Abraham who carried it to his son Isaac, who carried it to his son Jacob, who carried it to his son Joseph. Later, Joseph requested the Israelites take his bones to Canaan when they finally left Egypt (Genesis 50:24–25). The promise to make the Israelites a nation in the land of Canaan was a promise that captivity in Egypt would not thwart. The bones of Joseph represented a commitment by the people to trust God for their past, present, and future.

It is easy to view deployment with tunnel vision and to forget that, from a military and national perspective, a larger plan is at work. Whatever your thoughts or feelings about that military or national plan, the challenge I offer you today is to view it from a personal perspective. Believe that God can use deployment to fulfill the larger plan for your life.

Think about it: long before Moses led the Israelites out of the country, before they became slaves, even before they grew into a nation of millions in Egypt, Joseph’s inspiration already indicated that God had a grand strategy both for going into Egypt and coming out of Egypt. Over the four-hundred-year period that Israel was in captivity, it was easy to lose sight that there would be deliverance.

When the Israelites were struggling in mud quarries making one brick at a time, no doubt it was hard to see that God had a larger plan. They were just trying to make it through one day at a time. When your house is a mess, your kids are sick, and stacks of dishes are in the sink, it is hard to see how God is at work on a larger plan for your good. But: don’t forget where the bones are buried, because you will get to dig them up and carry them out. What kind of bones will you carry out?

In what ways might difficult circumstances be part of a larger plan for your good? Joseph’s bones were tangible symbols of his faith that someday the circumstances for the Israelites would get better. What bones of hope and faith are buried in your life and family? Do you have relatives that have buried a legacy of faith in you? If possible, contact a loved one or dear friend and talk about your shared faith and hope.