As we honor our veterans this week and their great sacrifice for our country, we are thrilled to have Ginger Gilbert Ravella join us on Pardon the Mess. Ginger is a mother of five, stepmother of two, military wife, writer, and speaker. At thirty-six years old, she faced the sudden, tragic loss of her college-sweetheart husband and Air Force F-16 pilot in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Her husband, Major Troy Gilbert, gave his life while saving over twenty Special Operation soldiers. As Ginger so beautifully puts it, “He was a hero every day, but that day he became an American hero.” Major Gilbert left behind five beautiful children under the age of nine and a wife who spent the following days wrestling with God in the midst of deep despair and depression. Ginger learned that Iraqi insurgents had taken her husband’s body, thereby repeatedly making their story a CNN headline as multiple attempts were made to recover his body. Her testimony is so powerful, reminding us that God is enough even in the darkest places and how he prepared her well in advance for the hard days that were to come. Ginger is now remarried to another Air Force pilot, Colonel Jim Ravella (Ret), who lost his wife to breast cancer. Ginger shares advice on blended families, grief, ministering to widows, and wrestling with God in the hard places of life. Ginger and Jim Ravella continue to tirelessly support and raise funds to help fallen and disabled veterans and their families. Their inspirational memoir, Hope Found, weaves together their real-life struggles, vulnerable faith, and unshakable patriotism. Links: Hope Found Connect with Ginger Get your Advent devotional now!