Invisible strengths are hard to name, perhaps because they do not trumpet their presence. They grow quietly, like roots beneath the soil, unseen until their hold steadies us. Only when we look back do we realize how much they have carried us, woven through our days like threads of resilience hidden in the fabric of our lives.

In my earliest years as a military spouse, one moment stands out with lasting clarity. I was heavily pregnant, new to a unit, and suddenly facing my husband’s unexpected TDY orders. Within hours, the house was quiet, the contractions were beginning, and I realized with a sinking heart that I had no one nearby to call. Not a Key Spouse, not a Chaplain, not even a neighbor—I had not yet woven those threads of connection.