Valentine’s Blogjacking

Hello Paige fans! President of the Paige Sloan Fan Club here: I wanted to stop by and hijack this blog for a moment to tell a little about my insanely wonderful wife.

See, part of this whole 28 Days of Commitment that our church is doing (that Paige has mentioned with the diet and exercise), for me, was to give up the Internet for 28 days. Of course it’s virtually impossible for me to do my job(s) without email and such, but I cut out all Internet for entertainment purposes, i.e. Facebook, Instagram, eBay, YouTube, etc. Now we’re only two weeks in, but so far it hasn’t been nearly as difficult as I had originally thought. I’ve had plenty of Bible study, exercise, work, and crazy dogs to keep me occupied.

But it’s not about me, and it never has been.

I gave up Internet not just because it was consuming the time that I could have spent investing in my relationship with God, but because it was also consuming time I could have invested in my wife. Now that I’m using my time for both of those things, God has honored that by making both of those things more fulfilling than ever.

I hate exercise. I’m not built to be an athlete. There’s only so much running and lifting and moving around a big old tater can do…at the end of the day it’s still an ol’ tater and not a carrot.

But these last few weeks of working out with Paige, of fighting through the pain and suffering together, of doing an activity together and watching her commitment, of riding to go run or work out together have been a whole other world to me. Whereas in the past, visits to the gym have been a whirlwind of competition with friends or withering under insecurity around for strangers, these visits have been a whirlwind of Paige and fun. I don’t do it because I think I’ll get skinny or buff (’cause I was clearly born to be a tater), I do it because I can do it with Paige. God has blessed what is usually miserable and awkward for me, and not only made it enjoyable, but made it something to enrich our marriage.

Every year in January, I write a list of my goals for the year on a dry erase board and hang it on the refrigerator. One of my goals for the year is to do something to serve Paige every day. Since the 28 Days started, I’ve had the opportunity to serve Paige a whole lot by making smoothies in the morning and cooking dinner in the evenings. It’s been a real struggle to get up in the mornings or come home after work and do it, and I’ve missed a couple here and there. But to do these things and suffer through some of the awful recipes and the fatigue right beside Paige and not retreat into Instagram or eBay, but to retreat into time next to Paige has made it totally worth it.

I guess what I’m trying to say here is that Paige is the real deal when it comes to amazing people. I fail HARD at romance and I fail just as hard at making her feel special all the time, but dadgumit if she doesn’t make me feel like the most special guy in the world every day without even trying. Every single struggle, triumph, hobby, and job that I experience is infinitely better when I add Paige in and take self-serving distractions away. I know this was random and scattered and I definitely didn’t say everything I wanted to say but the realization I’ve come to and what I want you guys to get is this:

You guys have no idea how lucky we all are that we get to experience Paige.

But I do.

So President of the Paige Sloan Fan Club here saying thank you, Paige, for the gift of you. Happy Valentine’s Day, and I love you.