By: Captain Beth Swyers

I never wanted to be an officer.  For years as I was growing up as the child of officers, I saw the daily difficulties my parents faced. I wanted to be a nurse. I wanted a nice car, and more importantly, I wanted to never move again.

I started college and started preparing myself for the life I wanted to lead. In the summer of 1998, I had the wonderful opportunity to be on the summer service team to Moldova. It became such a summer of clarity for me. When you enjoy socializing as much as I do, sometimes the Lord has to take you to a place where you have to listen instead of always talking. That place for me was Moldova.

We spent a lot of time that summer in personal devotions and devotion time with our team. I learned to wait and listen upon the Lord. In the silence of the summer I heard the Lord speak to me quite clearly about his plans for my life. They definitely didn't correlate with my plans.

I came to see that even though officers face difficulties, they don't face them alone. I knew that if I wanted to be obedient, I needed to follow the Lord's plan. When I came home from Moldova.  I changed my major so I could finish college in a year. Then in 1999, I entered the School for Officers Training. There has never been a day that has gone by where I have questioned that decision. Even though I have faced many hardships and challenges these past few years, the Lord has always remained faithful.  As it turns out, I actually enjoy moving every few years.

The Scripture the Lord shared with me that summer was Philippians 3:9: "What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage that I may gain Christ." When you give up everything for him, you gain so much more.