That Crazy Man I Love (Back to the Grindstone)
That Crazy Man I Love and I made it through! If you’re wondering what I’m talking about, I’ll explain a little. Howard was injured at work about 2 1/2 months ago and then lost his job about two months ago. We were slightly devastated, a little freaked out, worried about finances, especially because of his injury, and just a little relieved. Relieved, what?!
Howard had not been happy at his job for a long time. He was harassed almost daily with comments about him going to the restroom too often (he takes a water pill in the morning) or not hustling. He was written up for problems in his department that he had no control over. He was threatened with his job almost every day in normal conversations. He wasn’t happy. It was having an effect on our marriage, our family, and his relationship with our boy.
But, that didn’t relieve the fears that we had when he was let go finally.
And that didn’t answer the questions about what would happen with his injury that occurred at work.
Almost instantly we saw a change in our family. The happy, silly, goofy, CRAZY family dynamic returned to our home. We moved to another rental house. Howard became the spiritual leader of our family that he has always wanted to be. He encouraged us to have faith that God would provide.
And God provided. Daily. Instantly. God is Good ALL the time!
Howard has changed so much in the past two months. Actually, he just stayed the same (or returned), only better. I love watching him grow in his faith and encourage us to grow as well. He is a great provider of love, encouragement, and assurance for Benjamin and me.
And, he is back at work now!
We found out that he didn’t need surgery (praise God!) and he is still in some pain, but it is improving. We are losing weight and feeling better. He got a job at another store and is on Day Three already. He is excited about work and about our little family.
So, there you have it. We made it through one of life’s most difficult challenges. I can remember just a couple of days (or maybe the day) after Howard was let go, he was worrying or apologizing or something like that. I told him that this was going to be tough, but we were in it together and God would tell us how to do it. I told him that we would barrel through and then be on the other side and look back like it was no big deal. I can acknowledge that it wasn’t the easiest, but it was definitely not as bad as it could have been. God was gracious with us and I will continue to shout that from the rooftops!
Why I Love My Husband
{the never-ending list}
Now for more of my never-ending list…
81. He encourages me to have faith in God and is the spiritual leader of our home.
82. He makes breakfast, lunch, and dinner for Benjamin and me every day.
83. He lays awake at night protecting our family. We have a little apartment behind our house and the girl there has some shady people coming and going all through the night so Howard hasn’t had a good night’s sleep since we moved. Thank God for days off when he can sleep during the day!
84. He looks forward to working so he can help provide for the family. Or at least he does it anyway and doesn’t complain.
85. He encourages me in our weight loss, in providing for the family, in raising our boy. And I just hope I can someday encourage him in the same way.
I’m building this never-ending list every Thursday (even though they moved the linky to Monday once a month) with the Happy Wives Club. Sometimes, it will be mushy and sometimes it will be hilarious, but it will always be true.
Wow! Almost 6 years ago, I was at work. My husband was at work (so I thought). I emailed him in the middle of the day because I had been up in the cafeteria and saw a poster for puppies for sale. And, they were adorable. So, I emailed him to tell him about it. His email bounced back “undeliverable”. Odd. He worked for a communications company. Oh well. I sent it again. Same thing. I then called him and got his voice mail. Well, I thought it was strange, but things happen.
I called him at home that evening and told him what happened. I ended it with, “What happened? Did you get fired?” Of course, I was only joking. So, I’m sure you can imagine my HORROR when he said, “Yes.”
I’m sorry. Who-be-kay-be-whatee? Ok – he didn’t get fired. He got laid off.
I still had an hour left at work, but I just sat at my desk crying (I worked in a call center, so this worked out perfectly for me.) My boss tried to find a way to let me go, but there was just nothing she could do.
When I finally was able to get home, I walked in the door and my husband just looked at me and started crying (and he NEVER cries). (I should add here that we had a financial goal that was about to be met. I was going to be able to quit my job when that goal was met – I hated hated hated hated hated my job.) One of the first things he said to me was…”Now it’ll be longer before you’re able to quit.”
I thought it was so, so sweet of him to think of me in the midst of his trial. Also, I asked him why he didn’t call me at work. He found out first thing in the morning. 2 hours before I even left for work. He said that he didn’t want to ruin my day. (Fast forward – he got a job 5 weeks later, and I was able to quit 5 months earlier than originally planned.)
It’s just hard when our husbands hurt, and we can’t take it away.
Aww..how thoughtful of him and so sad that he thought he had to take care of you first. When my husband lost a job just after our son was born I almost left him (situations were very different back then) and now he’s constantly afraid I’m going to leave him. I felt so bad for him when he lost his job at Brookshire’s, but it turned out to be a huge blessing for our family.
Yeah I read the post where he had a new job by Sunday You were new in your marriage and still getting to know each other. It’s understandable.
I’m sure Howard will get to a point that he knows you’re committed to him and to your family and won’t worry about that anymore.
WOW, Janet! That is awesome. I know hubby is over the moon to be back at work and I love hear you (figuratively speaking, of course) shouting from the rooftops!
Awww i love this so much Janet! Sounds like you are having so much fun!Praise God for all He has done for you and your family. I did a post a while back titled ’29 reasons i love my husband’ and since then been keeping my own listing of things i love about him. just realized that i haven’t updated it in a while and i need to start asap! thanks for the reminder!
One of the things i love about him this very week – he’s had a really tough time at work but he’s kept up his energies for our marriage, sweet, playful and kind. he’s tried hard to keep me in the loop when he’s feeling truly down – so that we are on the same page and i don’t misconstrue things!
Thanks for a sweet post!
It sounds like we are both in beautiful marriages!
It comes through so strongly how much you love your husband. I love reading about it because so much in the world today is about married people tearing down their spouse.
Thank you, Jayne! I love writing about it because it’s a weekly reminder that I need to pour my love on him as he is my God-given partner for this life!