The Young Man

******WARNING: MUSHY POST ALERT******

It is fascinating to me how one's entire life can change so quickly. Most of the time when you hear about a life-changing event, it's a tragedy. In the past six months, however, my life trajectory has changed so much my head is still spinning. And let me just say: it is absolutely wonderful.

This is SO much better than the original life trajectory. Or the Plan B trajectory. Or Plans H-K. Or Plan W.

Three months ago, a handsome, intelligent, funny, sweet, clever young man asked me to marry him (well, formally. He'd kind of asked me about 10 times before... but that was the actual formal, down-on-one-knee, public-knowledge occasion.) Today marks about 10 months since I actually met him. It marks a bit more than 5 months from our first date... which means it marks a bit more than 5 months from when I fell head-over-heels-to-the-moon in love with him. Now, in just two weeks, I will marry The Most Amazing Man in the World.

I know.
You're thinking to yourselves... Linda?? Practical Linda??? Practical, sensible, methodical, analytical, mature, boring Linda???? Falling in love after ONE DATE? No way.

Yep. That's how it happened. Now I get to eat my words for the rest of my life after making fun of countless movies and people for falling in love quickly.

Summarized in one word: uncharacteristic.

Isn't it awesome, though? Isn't God good? Isn't He wise to let me know, without any doubt, that Keenan Price is absolutely the best man in the world for me? And so quickly. It's the one choice in my life I haven't had to mull over or rethink. As it turns out, deciding to marry Keenan has been the EASIEST decision I've ever made.

Love is always a beautiful thing. But true love is even better. It is absolutely worth the wait. I wouldn't change any of it for the world.

Now that this hurdle--finding an husband--is done, I've done a lot of self-reflection. I don't regret the paths I've taken. I am so glad I took advantage of every opportunity that presented itself, and I didn't waste any time, and I truly worked hard and tried many different things. I am grateful for the time I had to explore and expand my horizons. While it would have been really nice to have met Mr. Price sooner, I am glad that we met when we did. Sometime, when life slows down a bit, I'll share how that happened :) The whole story is pretty great.

The Most Amazing Man in the World and guest.

That being said, the only thing I wish that I'd done better is TRUST GOD. I wish that I had trusted that God would really keep His promises to me. I wish my faith had been stronger! I wish that I hadn't spent so much time worrying about whether or not I'd be able to partake in His promised blessings... wondering whether or not keeping the commandments really did result in blessings for me. I never doubted whether or not that would work for other people, but how could it also work for me?

Me, panicking.

How many times did I worry about getting "too old" to get married or have a family?* Since I'm 25 (GASP! SO OLD!! *sarcasm* even though it can feel about 58 in Utah County years, it is NOT old), this was a concern for me.

How many times did I wonder 'how I would know' if the man I marry is going to be a good person forever? How many times did I question whether or not things would actually work out?

How many times did I try to steady the ark, thinking that I knew better my situation better than my HEAVENLY FATHER?

*For Pete's sake... Abraham and Sarah were 100 years old! Show a little faith, Linda!

Now, the insecurities and worries are laughable. I am rolling my eyes at myself right now... How could I have been so foolish??? How could I not have believed that The Most Powerful Being has the ability to make everything unfold perfectly and clearly for me?

Hello, McFlinda?? Hello??

Photo Credit: Meme Generator.
Can't go wrong with a Back to the Future meme.

But such is faith. It's much easier to see trust the past than the future. But let's DO trust the future. Let's trust that Heavenly Father knows us and our deepest desires and our fears... He gets it. He's definitely considered everything we have and haven't thought of. Let's trust that "blessings will come."   And oh my goodness... blessings come by the bucket-full.

What a cutie-face.

It's one thing to anticipate that the blessings will come "someday". It's another thing to actually see those blessings come POURING in. I want to just add my testimony that yes, blessings DO come.
As my betrothed always says,

"When you do the things you are supposed to do, everything works out."

Take a wild guess as to which of us is more photogenic.
#hopefullyhisgenesaredominant

     

*******SPOILER ALERT*******

Keenan Price, I love you. Thank you for always doing what you were supposed to do. Thank you for loving me. You brought me more joy and peace and happiness and security than I could have imagined. I'm thrilled to continue this adventure with you. 

Thank You, Heavenly Father, for putting us together and keeping promises, like always.