My husband, Rich, and I had a good laugh at ourselves the other day. And in the process, I was reminded of how strong a feeling love is.
It was a Sunday afternoon and Rich had gone for a bike ride, heading south toward Pine Island. Around the same time that he left, I went for a run, heading north. When I got back from my run, I knew that Rich was home because his bike was in the driveway. Before going into the house, I went to the backyard to cool down and stretch. Then I entered our house through the basement door and headed straight to the laundry room (an important detail as you will soon see).
Apparently, at about the time I was going to the back yard, Rich came out the front door and sat on our porch to wait for my return. I usually enter the front door after my runs, but I had not on this day. When I had not returned home, or so Rich thought, he became concerned and went off to look for me, walking along Pulaski Highway toward Mount Eve Road.
It was a warm, slightly humid day, and Rich knows that I have a condition called neurocardiogenic syncope. It is not as serious as it sounds. But it means I have low blood pressure and can faint without much warning (though I take medicine to prevent that). However, I am supposed to avoid getting too hot, and I have to be careful not to become dehydrated.
With Rich out looking for me along the highway, I came upstairs from the laundry room to ask how his bike ride went. I first looked for him in the kitchen and living room. No Rich. I looked in our bedroom and the bathrooms. He wasn’t there. “Where’s your dad?” I asked my stepson. Richard Jr. didn’t know, but said, “He was here a little while ago.” I checked the basement and went back outside. My husband’s bike was still there. I looked in the backyard and peered out at the pool. By then, I was starting to worry. Where could he be? Worst-case scenarios began playing out in my mind. Opposite of me, Rich has high blood pressure. I thought, “Did he have a heart attack?” I kept walking through the house, checking rooms I had already checked.
After a few minutes, I heard the front door open. I went to the living room. There was Rich! He laughed and said, “Have you been here all along?” I gave him a tight hug. We both were fine, and there had been no tragedy as my imagination had tried to lead me to believe—but I still felt relief, and I was reminded at that moment how much I love Rich, and how much he loves me.
Later, I thought about how God loves me—loves all of us—even more. I find my husband’s love for me to be an amazing thing. To think that God loves each us many more times than that, it is an awesome thing to try to comprehend, but what a wonderful blessing it is.
I leave you with John 10:14-15—I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.
—Kim Paras
