Love called

My phone rang on Wednesday night.

I was just getting out of the car, minding my own business, when I heard the tinkle, tinkle of my cell.

It was husband.

My best friend.

The the man whose voice I haven't heard in three weeks.

The second he said "Hi, baby," his voice cracked.

He cried.

I didn't stand a chance.

Although he had a much easier time pulling it together after someone yelled at him to "Suck it up, men! I don't want to see anyone crying on those phones tonight!"

Still, we got to talk for a full 30 minutes. We chatted about our friends, our families, the dogs, our upcoming move, random stuff.

We both stopped a lot just to hear each other's voices.

We both cried.

Even though I was sitting in my house, talking to him felt like coming home.

Because, though this journey will still be hard, I have learned even more about love over the last three weeks than I ever thought possible.

Like my friend Jenn said just a few days ago, the true love of a spouse doesn't look like we see it in the movies.

It's grittier; it's simpler. It's real-er.

It's the actual realization that even at their worst, they make our lives better.

Because that's the thing: My husband and I are without each other, in tears at the sound of each other's voices. It's definitely not us at our brightest and shiniest. But it's still us, loving each other in a way that only we know how.

My husband really does know how to love me, even from afar, even when I'm scraping the bottom of my barrel, even at my ugliest.

And, no, that love doesn't read like a great romantic novel. It doesn't even read like a good issue of Ladies Home Journal.

It's bills and tears and separation and laundry and moving and fear and longing and pain and jar spaghetti sauce. It's missed LOST episodes and long-distance phone calls. It's bare feet and dreams of babies. It's going to church alone and Navy-forced time away. It's us.

It's our own black-and-blue love story.

One phone call brought that all rushing back.

Truth be told, I love my husband more today than I did yesterday. Even though I haven't seen him in three weeks.

Because it's not pretty, but it's pretty real.

And it's better than any movie I've ever seen.

***

Thanks, Jenn, for inspiring me to write about love when it's hardest!

And thank the Lord for Friday! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!