Remember back to the first military movie you watched. Maybe it was as a new military spouse; perhaps it was as a kid. Either way, you probably thought it was so realistic. Then you became a military spouse and realized, they never get it right. We feel your pain, and we were skeptical of yet another movie that claimed to portray military life accurately. But, we watched Indivisible anyway because we love military movies. And we were delighted.
One Marriage
When you look at a military marriage on the big screen, you can’t help but think about your own. You compare their relationship to your own, silently judging their division of labor or lack of. You think, nope, I’m not the kind to get involved with family readiness. Or, I don’t ever want to live near other military families. Indivisible, took the time to really show these parts of military life — the brokenness, the hostility, the resentment.
For the Turner Family, military life was new and exciting. They were facing their first deployment with young kids at home and had no idea what to expect. Sound familiar? As we watched them struggle to find their way, figuring out how to communicate, when to talk, and — in the end — how to reintegrate, it reminded us of our first time going through it too.
One Family
For some of us, our first deployments involved pregnancies or kids already at home. For others, they involved career changes and volunteer commitments. But, as we muddled through, we ultimately found solace in the same thing — our family. Sometimes we were lucky enough to have our extended family close enough to help out. Sometimes we relied on our military family.
Despite the challenges that we faced, we knew we would never face them alone. And, while we may not have been the one to answer the dreaded knock on the door, we were there with our military family as they processed, grieved, and questioned. To this day, we are still a family, united in good times and in bad.
Under God
Chaplain Turner went through his own battle during deployment and then continued fighting it when he returned home. Like so many of our service members, he didn’t know how to tell his wife — how could she possibly understand what he was going through? She, in turn, couldn’t understand why he wasn’t more present, why he didn’t want to spend more time with his kids, why he couldn’t let it go. Watching these arguments brought tears. How many times have we had that exact conversation, said those exact words?
The true story of the Turners and their journey in faith, as portrayed in the movie Indivisible, is inspiring and encouraging. We know that not every military marriage withstands the turmoil of war. We know that not every deployment brings a happy redeployment. We know that sometimes — quite frankly — this military life blows. But we also know that, without a doubt, we wouldn’t change it for anything.
Catch the movie in theaters starting October 26th, and let us know your thoughts on this amazing film, Indivisible.
Photo Credits: Lovell-Fairchild
