Depth of Love

 

            Ryan is a great demonstrator of deep love. He does it so well, and I always find myself convicted (in the best way) to improve how I show love to him and others.

            As you know, we’re in the middle of crunch time over here, trying to get everything packed and ready to move – and get the house finished ahead of said move!

            Last Friday was a rough day. Ryan and I did a very long workout Thursday night that was (surprisingly) a lot of fun in the moment, but the next morning, my neck and shoulders ached SO much. I tried everything I knew to do, but my head and neck still hurt.

            I had a miscommunication with a friend that left me in tears. I felt like I was struggling to grasp a simple thing at work. So many little pieces just piled up. None of them were earth shattering, but when stacked on top of one another, they were maddening.

            Ryan called on his way to the lake after work, and we talked for a few minutes. I asked if he’d arrived safely, and he said yes, so I went back to work and plodded ahead toward the end of my day.

            I heard a car door and glanced over to the neighbors’ house to see who had come home. I didn’t see anyone, so I looked in our driveway to see if someone was here. I didn’t see a car, so I figured someone down the road must really be slamming doors hard!

            Then I heard Lexi starting to lose her mind out in the living room. I went out to see what she’d spotted in the yard, and there stood Ryan, in the living room, smiling at me and holding out a Coke.

            I screamed, because I thought he was an intruder, but as soon as I recovered from that, I just melted into a puddle. How SWEET was he? I knew he had so much to do at the lake and such specific plans to cross off his list that night. I managed to ask what he was doing here, and he said, “You need me more than the house does tonight.”

            Oh the depth of sacrificial love.

            He handed me the Coke, which got me through the rest of the work day. Then we banded together to pack boxes and take apart furniture. He ordered my favorite pizza for dinner, and then we loaded up part of the guest bed and drove it over to the lake to place it in its new room.

            I can’t explain what a blessing it was to have half a piece of furniture at home in its new space. I asked Ryan to take my picture with it – a trophy of sorts.  He chuckled and said, “It’s half a bed. It’s not even a WHOLE thing.” I told him I didn’t care. It was hope.

            Ryan and I are cut from the same cloth when it comes to marking items off lists. Success matters, and anything else smells like defeat. It meant everything to me that he was willing to sacrifice a critical evening of work at the lake to make sure something went right in my day. I didn’t ask for it. I didn’t expect it. But I treasured it deeply.

            Thanks, Ryan! Thanks for loving me so well at all times. You are my favorite!