The Best Decision I Ever Made

Moments after we made
the best decision ever.

On July 4th, 2011, Vince Frantz got down on one knee in the middle of his mom's living room with a ring in his hand and said, "So, you know we're getting married, right?" It was perfect in all the ways that stories are perfect, and in all the ways that unique, true things are perfect. I felt my heart leap into my head in the most pleasant way. I said yes, and he hugged me, and we kissed, and it was like I was meant to stay right there, holding him while he held me, forever. And then...our sweet pup, Juno, pooped on the floor next to us (she was excited, too). So we both laughed and cleaned it up and loved on her for a while. Just like our relationship before we got engaged, and our relationship ever since, we don't do many things the conventional way, and that's what makes our story ours. We let life take us where it will, and when it does, we embrace it.

Engagement photo by Rob Reed.

Vince is my best friend. My whole life I've had different best friends. Girls, guys, older, younger--they've all come and gone, and while I'll love them each in different ways forever, none of them even begin to hold a candle to the friendship I have with Vince. He's honest with me and he helps me be honest with him, even when it's hard. He makes me talk about the things I'd rather bottle up, and because of that, I grow, and we grow together. Joining my life to his made me feel, for the very first time, truly whole.

My tattoo, with a bit added from
a song Vince wrote for me.

I fell in love with Vince long before I knew I'd fallen in love with him. But, I knew that I loved him from the first time we hung out. I loved how he laughed, and how he made me laugh. I loved that I could make him laugh! I loved hearing him play guitar and sing, and I loved singing with him. I loved drinking french-pressed, black coffee (OK, at the point I didn't love the black coffee, but it was the beginning of a loving relationship) and sitting up until four a.m. talking about our lives, our troubles, our pasts, and our futures. I loved him because of how natural I could be around him, and because of how natural he could be around me. I suppose saying I ever fell in love with him is misleading. I didn't fall. I walked into that love with both eyes wide open, I just didn't realize I'd walked all the way through that door until I heard it slam behind me, and I knew I could never go back. I knew I'd never want to go back. When I realized I was in love with him, when I was struck with that realization, and with how absolutely comfortable I was with that, I knew I was finally home. For the first time in my life, I could be me, and I could rest in that with someone who wanted me to be me.

Our first kiss as
husband and wife.

Before we got married, before we got engaged, before we told the world we were dating, I knew, deep in my heart, that I wanted to be with him forever. It was scary to think about, because it was so fast, so I didn't admit it out loud for a while, but I knew. There was something about his heart that pulled me to him like a magnet. He was and is the other half of me.

For a whole year now, Vince and I have been Mr. and Mrs. Frantz. We've had wonderful days that I'll never forget, and hard days that I've learned from and let go. We've learned an incredible amount as a couple, and as individuals. I'm so happy that I found him, that he found me, and that we get the opportunity to spend the rest of our lives together. I'm so excited to get to learn different ways of loving him as our lives go on, and to go out into the world and love others with him. Because the greatest, most wonderful, most beautiful aspect about my husband is his amazing heart, and his compassion for others that I know he gets from his love for Jesus and his desire to live as Jesus would have him live. I want to be the Mrs. Frantz that is equally yoked with her Mr. Frantz, and I think that, together, we have a great start.

July 4th, 2012

People always told me I should never settle, that I should marry my best friend. Those people were speaking a great and wonderful truth into my life, and I'm so, so glad that I listened.

On July 24th, 2011, twenty days after we decided to get married, I followed that wonderful advice. And now, after a year of marriage--of days filled with joy, laughter, tears, disagreements, and kisses--my love for my best friend has grown by leaps and bounds. Every day I realize something new about him, and about us, and my love for him deepens. My understanding of what love really is, what it really means, grows.

Vince, thank you for being my best friend, and for being my husband. Thank you for helping me stand when I beat myself to the ground. For loving me through my good days and my bad ones. Thank you for teaching me how to love you, and others, better. Thank you for teaching me how to have fun when I get too serious about unimportant things. Thank you for always wanting to spend time with me, to laugh with me, to hold me, and to talk with me. Thank you for all of your compromises, all of your loving words and gestures, and most of all, thank you for being such a true person, friend, and husband. Happy Anniversary! I love you, boon.