love like crazy

 I heard this song on the radio in the car yesterday as I followed Josh (in his tiny two door Honda Civic hatchback with Jack & Logan crammed in the backseat) to the car repair place where we dropped off my Honda Pilot to get a new rear end thanks to getting hit in a parking lot several weeks ago.  

 The song gave me chills.

LOVE LIKE CRAZY

{Lee Brice}

They called him crazy when they started out
Said seventeen's too young to know what loves about
They've been together fifty-eight years now
That’s crazy

 

He brought home sixty-seven bucks a week
He bought a little 2 bedroom house on Maple Street
Where she blessed him with six more mouths to feed
Yeah that’s crazy

Just ask him how he did it; he'll say pull up a seat
It'll only take a minute, to tell you everything
Be your best friend, tell the truth, and overuse I love you
Go to work, do your best, don't outsmart your common sense
Never let your praying knees get lazy
And love like crazy

They called him crazy when he quit his job
Said them home computers, boy they'll never take off
He sold his one man shop to Microsoft
They paid like crazy

Just ask him how he made it

He'll tell you faith and sweat

And the heart of a faithful woman,

Who never let him forget

 

Be your best friend, tell the truth, and overuse I love you
Go to work, do your best, don't outsmart your common sense
Never let your praying knees get lazy
And love like crazy

 

Always treat your woman like a lady
Never get too old to call her baby
Never let your praying knees get lazy
And love like crazy
 

They called him crazy when they started out
They've been together fifty-eight years now

Ain't that crazy?

I just got back from a two day trip with my mom & sister to Great Wolf Lodge (which I will be blogging ALL about once I get my underwater camera film developed) and I couldn't believe how much I missed Josh. I missed all the things a man does on a trip that I take for granted (driving... unloading & reloading the car... holding doors open...) I missed him when I was watching Jack in the pool. I missed him when Jack woke up at 5:50am (on vacation!) and we had to wander the halls for two hours lest we wake our hotel co-sleepers (namely baby Ferris). I missed him when I was trying to fall asleep and kept having panic attacks about being on the fifth floor, how long it would take to get outside in the event of a fire and how ever-living hot it was inside our hotel room (I seriously felt like I was suffocating!) I just missed him.

I came home feeling such anticipation. I couldn't wait to fill him in on all the details of our adventure, and I couldn't wait to hear about his weekend with Logan.  We just talked and talked (and talked and talked!) Monday  night.  It made me realize that I really did find the right guy for me.  That I am one of the lucky ones.  That we really are MFEO like they say on Sleepless in Seattle.
 

We may have only been 17 when we met, but I knew a good thing when I saw it.  I was highly involved with my church when I met Josh in sign language class as a junior in high school.  He was raised Mormon. My church did not support dating, let alone dating Mormons.  But there was something about him.  He was honest and he was funny.  Oh, was he funny!  Almost immediately we started seeing each other. I knew there would be a backlash at church, but I was drawn to him.  And I prayed, earnestly, that God would help me make the right choice.  I heard a resounding yes and with that I moved forward with our relationship.  A little over a month later we went to Junior Prom and Josh said I love you for the first time.  

As pressure at church increased, I journaled, "I hope we can persevere through these rough times and come out even tougher, stronger and more in love. That's my prayer." That, and, "You don't get to pick who you fall in love with, even though it'd be easier if you did."  About six months into our relationship my mom offered me some advice.  She told me that I was an adult (at this point I was 18) and that I could make my own life choices.  She said my relationship with God was only between He and I. No one else.  She said not to let someone else put standards or expectations on me.

The church had been my strongest support, my favorite place to be, and losing that broke my very heart. But I had had enough.  I had to leave.

Once I left the church, there was peace.  There was quiet in my mind. And there was instant confidence in my heart that I would marry Josh.

One year later we were engaged.  

In spite of the pain that leaving the church caused me, I have to say that I would do it all again in a heartbeat if it meant ending up where I am today.

I love being Josh's best friend. I love supporting him when he's hitting a rough patch. I love laughing with him when life gets crazy.  I love celebrating with him when things are peachy.  I love sharing my life with him. This life. This amazing family we have created from nothing.

I'm trying hard not to let my praying knees get lazy.
And I am most certainly loving these guys like crazy.