Spark and Inspire

Life as a military spouse has always been challenging, but 2020 seems to take the cake. Many of us are simply just living day-to-day, or moment-to-moment and that is okay. I know I am personally trying to seek moments of joy and good in each day – to make up for all the negative. It’s something I think we should all strive for to make it through this pandemic.

If I had a dollar for every time a recent meeting has started with “in these challenging times” or “we need to pivot during these times”, I’d be one wealthy military spouse. The reality is, pandemic or not, as military spouses, we face challenges every single day. Some of us buy houses over FaceTime, give birth alone, and deal with Murphy’s Law too many times to count. I know 2020 feels like the absolute worst but we can try to take control of the small things that help us change our outlook.

It is with this in mind; I co-founded a nonprofit with the Discovering Your Spark program. Our mission at Inspire Up is to provide education, empowerment, and create communities. Discovering Your Spark helps military spouses find the spark or purpose within them; and collectively, we decided to create a box that would be filled with things to help military and first responder spouses do so.

Thanks to the incredible financial sponsorship of Caliber Home Loans and others, we were able to give 50 boxes. To receive a box, spouses entered a lottery to register to win. We never dreamed it would garner as much attention as it did! We had over 1,200 entries and received a quite a bit of media coverage around the box as well. In the end, the testimonials were what made the giveaway so special.

We heard from spouses who said that they felt despondent and hopeless, but receiving the box changed everything. It gave them the push they so desperately needed to believe in hope and good. Ah, our mission is so fulfilling! Reading through all the moving testimonials was amazing! You our why.

At Inspire Up and Discovering Your Spark, we want people to realize that they can be the good in the world. Rather than getting lost in the noise of what’s going wrong, strive to be what’s right. You can do that right in your community, wherever you are. All you need is a little spark and some inspiration!

The truth is, you don’t need one of these snazzy Spark and Inspire boxes in hand, and that’s great. Grab a post-it note and create your own motivational quote to look at each day. Find words that matter and that inspire you! Find the joy in your day to day moments, do your best to concentrate on those rather than the negative, or things that haven’t gone as planned. Then, find a way to give back to your community.

Why do we do strive to give back? Because we too find ourselves weighed down. Between the pandemic and world events, it’s not easy to maintain positivity but, by living our purpose, which lies within serving others – we find we are filled with joy. And while we can’t control the all the negative in this world, we do our best to shift our focus to the things that bring us joy.

To understand more about what Caliber Home Loans and our Caliber Military and Veteran Loan Program (CMLVP) Team can do for you, reach out to us today at Military@CaliberHomeLoans.com

* This information is not intended as financial advice nor as an offer to enter into an agreement. Caliber Home Loans, Inc. is committed to our nation’s Veteran and Active Military homebuyers through the creation of specialized, in-house education curriculum that prepares our team members to meet the changing needs of our military borrowers. This blog is written by military spouses in an effort to share the unique experiences shared within the military community. The thoughts and opinions are strictly representative of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policy of Caliber Home Loans, Inc.

Jessica Manfre
Military Spouse & Blogger