Home Front Heroines

Everything looked normal until the moment of birth. Jeff Etheridge leaves the U.S. Navy to marry Kumi and attend seminary. Finances are tight, so he joins the Reserves to add needed income and finds a job that works around school hours. He and Kumi rejoice as the birth of their first child approaches, but their world crashes around them with Mika's first breath. Doctors fight to give their daughter life while Jeff and Kumi pray for God's healing provision. Life settles into a routine despite Mika's chronic conditions, and God continues to add blessings around them. But God whispers about returning to life in the Navy. Jeff thinks it's a ridiculous idea as he doesn't want to leave his family, but for the first time in her life, Kumi believes it's the right choice. Desperate for Chaplains, the Navy processes Jeff back into active service. As the family settles in at their first duty station, terrorists attack U.S. soil. Could God bring them peace and contentment even in the midst of the uncertainty surrounding them?

Deployment changed him, and she doesn't know if she can live with it. After her husband returns from a deployment to Saudi Arabia, Lori Braxton begins noticing little differences in his behavior. He's withdrawn, moody, and can't sleep. Could it be the stress of military life after the 9/11 attack on New York? Maybe it's the new assignment in Montana or the financial problems he ignores. Perhaps it's forces she can't see and doesn't know how to fight, or maybe she's a bigger part of the problem than she wants to admit. What is God doing? Is He even paying attention? Lori tries to attend church and do what God asks, but the truth is she doesn't really hear Him speak. Between money strains, pregnancy hormones, and young ones underfoot, Lori spirals into depression. What good could God possibly bring from the mess surrounding her?