2026! Now What?

Now that we have gone through many situations and experiences during the past year, 2025, what can we expect in 2026?

This is a question many veterans face after a year of deployments and upon returning to establish a more “normal” life. All of the exciting and heart-warming airport and loading dock welcomes, parades, flag-waving, and other gratifying home celebrations are behind us. Returning home from deployment(s) can be a time of incredible happiness, but what comes next? As things calm down, how do we return to “normalcy”?

We often hear that we “cannot go back home,” meaning that things will never be the same as when we left. Therefore, we must recognize the need to face the adjustments required by returning home following a long absence. Is this true?

Time changes things, both for the good and sometimes not so good. What will happen, however, is that we will develop a kind of “new normalcy.” This “new normalcy” will require adjustment in our physical, spiritual, and emotional health and welfare. And all of these will be connected in the same manner.

In one of our classes, Getting Back to Normalcy, offered online and in person, and soon through our digital library, we discuss the necessary principles to develop and live by that will assist families in their efforts to return to normalcy following separations due to military service to our nation. While these principles will not be a one-size-fits-all approach, they will assist families in returning to a normal routine of knowing and trusting each other again. Let us briefly touch on some of these principles:

1. Communication – Coupled with listening and consideration of the feelings of others, communication is a key element in developing normalcy. According to a recent Wall Street Journal survey, 40% of respondents stated that a lack of time together was a greater problem than a lack of money (Graham & Crossen, 1996). It is through open and honest communication that families can express individual needs and priorities. Coupled with listening, this gives families the opportunity to identify and work through conflicts that are a real part of everyday life.

2. Family Activities – Among veterans, there is a prevalent tendency to spend time connecting with former military buddies. Who better to understand a veteran’s situation in life than those who have “walked the walk”? Many veteran spouses feel that their partner in marriage shares feelings and seeks comfort from fellow veterans more often than from their own family. Veterans, you must not neglect the very ones who love you and have your best interests at heart. Working toward developing strong family relationships and interaction is critical to normalcy.

3. Be Patient – The prophet Habakkuk has this word: “For still the vision awaits its time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay” (Hab. 2:3). Veterans who transition out of a war zone, with all the mental and emotional baggage that comes with such; veterans who transition from isolation in foreign “safe places,” away from loved ones and a familiar culture—both alike seeking normalcy again—will not achieve this overnight. In our fast-track and hurry-up culture, we find it so difficult to delay gratification. Yet, we know the truth of the proverb that anything worth achieving is going to have obstacles along the way, but we will discover that God’s time is always perfect.

4. Make God a Partner – Augustine is credited with the statement about God, “You have created us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” The good news in recovery from whatever shalom (peace)-threatening situation we face is that we are privileged to have God as our ever-present Father. God values us individually above all creation, even angels, as the Psalmist assures us: “What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you made him a little less than God and have crowned him with glory and honor” (Psalm 8:4-5). One of the great songs of faith is “No, Never Alone.” This assures us that God is never “up there” while “I am down here.” It means that God is always Immanuel, “God with us.” With this Presence, we can say with Paul, “Nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39).

If you, our readership, are interested in speaking with us about our online classes or in-person classes, or our recordings on various subjects offered through our digital library, don't hesitate to get in touch with us at God’s Word for Warriors, by mail at 912 Harpeth Valley Place, Nashville, TN 37221, by email at tom@godswordforwarriors, or directly by phone (Tom Seals, 615-430-3544).