Before I get started on the many amazing reasons why my husband is my best friend, I want you to know that Jesus is my "best friend" first. So often I see women making their husbands and boyfriends their center of worship instead of keeping God their center. Make no mistake, the order of my priorities is Christian, wife, mother. In that order.
Why my husband is my best friend:
1) He loves Jesus. Long before my husband and I even started dating I set some standards. I made a list of the things I wanted and needed in my future husband and #1 was that he had to love Jesus. Ryan LOVES Jesus more than he loves me and that's what I need. I need someone who's not going to change their entire system of beliefs so they don't make me mad. A lot of girls I met in high school and girls I've met from working various jobs have been girls that would abandon everything they held close to them just to have a friend. Finding a husband who loves Jesus means they've already abandoned everything so they can have that friend. They've left or are leaving the things in this world that keep them from Jesus because Jesus is worth everything.
2) Girls are mean. Let's face it, in middle school, high school, and even beyond; most girls are mean. In middle school and high school I only had one "girl" friend. We're still very close, but we both learned that guys are a lot more laid back and don't care as much about the same things as girls. Don't get me wrong, when I was in middle school, and even sometimes now, I would LOVE to have a close "girl" friend who I can share my "girl" problems with. Someone who would understand why I think and feel the way I do. But having my husband is so much better. Not only does he TRY to understand why it is that I think and feel the way I do, he balances me out. He's not a "mean girl." He doesn't care if I wear makeup, he doesn't care if I wear "garage sale clothes." He looks at my heart above all else. He cares about me as a person and not my social status.
3) He encourages me. Sometimes I need an extra dose of encouragement. Ryan is supportive of me and encourages me to do what it is I feel like God has called me to do. When I was pregnant with my son a lot of people thought that I was crazy for wanting the type of birth I did. Even though my husband didn't understand it, he stood by me and encouraged me. When I found a great opportunity to work from home, he encouraged me when I was scared to take the leap.
4) I can trust him. There are a lot of people in this world that you can't trust. It'd be nice to trust them all, but you just can't do that. I have found a few people that I can trust and at the top of that list is my husband. He leads our family and prays about everything. He follows Jesus and I can trust that whatever decision he makes, he's prayed about and truly feels that's what we're supposed to do. Loose lips sink ships. He keeps my "secrets" and I don't have to worry about him running off and tellings all of his friends about what I said or how I feel.
5) He keeps me accountable. This may sound weird... but he keeps me in line. Most people wouldn't want this characteristic in a husband... but I do. I'm pretty forgetful and now that I'm a mom my attention is pulled in even more directions. He reminds me that I need to have my quiet time with Jesus. He reminds me to go work out. When I'm acting sour... he calls me out. He helps me grow as a Christian and that's something I'll always be grateful for.
6) I can be myself around him. Ryan has seen me at my highest high, and my lowest low. I don't have to worry about putting on a show to impress him. I don't have to worry about maintaining a certain image. When i just want to scream, he doesn't judge me. When our son was in the NICU it was the first time I felt like I could just let go and cry. It was just the three of us. No mom, no dad, no sisters, no brother. I didn't have to be strong for anyone. It was okay for me lose it and he made sure I knew that. I don't have to worry about
7) He directs me to Jesus. Most of my friends in high school weren't saved and quite frankly they weren't the "best" kids to be around. They didn't understand the new life that I had chosen to live. They would invite me to parties, they would cuss around me, and they would talk about a lot of things I didn't want to hear about. They quickly went from close friends to associations. During all of this there were a lot of times where they'd make me so mad and Ryan would just tell me "Love them, Jesus wants you to love them." When I had to make the decision of where to go to college or even if to go to college, Ryan wanted me to make sure I was praying about it. When I wanted to do the internship at Road to Life Church, he encouraged me to pray about it. He's never tried to push me in a direction other than prayer and Jesus. To me this is the best point to end with.
While there are infinite reasons that I'm grateful for my husband, I'll leave it at seven. Seven is the number of completion. There will be plenty of posts about why I love my husband, why he's my best friend, and why he's a great father. They say the grass is always greener on the other side. I say, they grass is always greener where you water it, feed it, and passionately take care of it.
Love you Ryan. You're the best.
Why my husband is my best friend:
1) He loves Jesus. Long before my husband and I even started dating I set some standards. I made a list of the things I wanted and needed in my future husband and #1 was that he had to love Jesus. Ryan LOVES Jesus more than he loves me and that's what I need. I need someone who's not going to change their entire system of beliefs so they don't make me mad. A lot of girls I met in high school and girls I've met from working various jobs have been girls that would abandon everything they held close to them just to have a friend. Finding a husband who loves Jesus means they've already abandoned everything so they can have that friend. They've left or are leaving the things in this world that keep them from Jesus because Jesus is worth everything.
2) Girls are mean. Let's face it, in middle school, high school, and even beyond; most girls are mean. In middle school and high school I only had one "girl" friend. We're still very close, but we both learned that guys are a lot more laid back and don't care as much about the same things as girls. Don't get me wrong, when I was in middle school, and even sometimes now, I would LOVE to have a close "girl" friend who I can share my "girl" problems with. Someone who would understand why I think and feel the way I do. But having my husband is so much better. Not only does he TRY to understand why it is that I think and feel the way I do, he balances me out. He's not a "mean girl." He doesn't care if I wear makeup, he doesn't care if I wear "garage sale clothes." He looks at my heart above all else. He cares about me as a person and not my social status.
3) He encourages me. Sometimes I need an extra dose of encouragement. Ryan is supportive of me and encourages me to do what it is I feel like God has called me to do. When I was pregnant with my son a lot of people thought that I was crazy for wanting the type of birth I did. Even though my husband didn't understand it, he stood by me and encouraged me. When I found a great opportunity to work from home, he encouraged me when I was scared to take the leap.
4) I can trust him. There are a lot of people in this world that you can't trust. It'd be nice to trust them all, but you just can't do that. I have found a few people that I can trust and at the top of that list is my husband. He leads our family and prays about everything. He follows Jesus and I can trust that whatever decision he makes, he's prayed about and truly feels that's what we're supposed to do. Loose lips sink ships. He keeps my "secrets" and I don't have to worry about him running off and tellings all of his friends about what I said or how I feel.
5) He keeps me accountable. This may sound weird... but he keeps me in line. Most people wouldn't want this characteristic in a husband... but I do. I'm pretty forgetful and now that I'm a mom my attention is pulled in even more directions. He reminds me that I need to have my quiet time with Jesus. He reminds me to go work out. When I'm acting sour... he calls me out. He helps me grow as a Christian and that's something I'll always be grateful for.
6) I can be myself around him. Ryan has seen me at my highest high, and my lowest low. I don't have to worry about putting on a show to impress him. I don't have to worry about maintaining a certain image. When i just want to scream, he doesn't judge me. When our son was in the NICU it was the first time I felt like I could just let go and cry. It was just the three of us. No mom, no dad, no sisters, no brother. I didn't have to be strong for anyone. It was okay for me lose it and he made sure I knew that. I don't have to worry about
7) He directs me to Jesus. Most of my friends in high school weren't saved and quite frankly they weren't the "best" kids to be around. They didn't understand the new life that I had chosen to live. They would invite me to parties, they would cuss around me, and they would talk about a lot of things I didn't want to hear about. They quickly went from close friends to associations. During all of this there were a lot of times where they'd make me so mad and Ryan would just tell me "Love them, Jesus wants you to love them." When I had to make the decision of where to go to college or even if to go to college, Ryan wanted me to make sure I was praying about it. When I wanted to do the internship at Road to Life Church, he encouraged me to pray about it. He's never tried to push me in a direction other than prayer and Jesus. To me this is the best point to end with.
While there are infinite reasons that I'm grateful for my husband, I'll leave it at seven. Seven is the number of completion. There will be plenty of posts about why I love my husband, why he's my best friend, and why he's a great father. They say the grass is always greener on the other side. I say, they grass is always greener where you water it, feed it, and passionately take care of it.
Love you Ryan. You're the best.