I knew you before... I can feel it

So this post will be pretty personal... I hope you will not mind. With Valentine's Day coming up and a few other events in my life I have reflected greatly on the people I love. I know with out a shadow of a doubt that some people are put in our lives to help us, encourage us, lift us, lean on us. I have felt this in my life a few times with friends. When we met it was almost familiar... comfortable... good... very good.

But the greatest "I knew you before moments" has been with my husband. Now I understand that this may sound crazy. Or maybe you have experienced something similar but I KNOW BEYOND A SHADOW OF A DOUBT I KNEW TROY AMMON CARTER BEFORE WE MET ON THIS EARTH. When we went on our first date (it was a blind single date) I felt that this boy was familiar but I was too busy dating 2 other guys that I really wasn't interested in Troy. We continued seeing each other and after a few short weeks it turned into a relationship.

Troy and I's relationship grew fast... LIKE SUPER FAST. Remember we were married 4 months and 8 days after we met. I remember the very first moment I recognized Troy as a person I knew before this earth. We were driving down to Salt Lake City and as usual we were dancing, singing, being crazy in the car and we were passing Malad area. I looked over at him and his eyes... His eyes were so familiar to me. I just stared at him. I couldn't NOT look at them (he was driving by the way). In his eyes I could see our children. I felt warm. I felt peace. I was overwhelmed and got very quiet. Troy thought it was odd that everything got so quiet in a matter of seconds. Within a few minutes though we were back to being goofy. Believe it or not I didn't tell him that story until after we had our first child!

I remember the first time I looked at his baby book... Same thing happened. I knew this guy. He was so close to my heart and we really had only known each other 6 months! The pictures made me feel as if I had been there. I felt like all his life I was there with him side by side even though he was living in England and California and I was in Virginia and Maryland.

The stories of his mission, high school, dating, childhood memories were so familiar to me.

The first few months of our marriage well and even now we will talk for hours on our bed. Mostly things about religion, our children, stupid people, you know husband wife talk. This too was so natural as if we had been doing this before. It was like we picked back up where we left off. I remember one time on a Sunday morning we talked from 7am-2pm without even realizing it!

Even now as I look at him from certain angles I can feel this bond that we created before this life. His smile... The genuine Troy Carter smile seals the deal. I have seen that smile before. I know it. Without a shadow of doubt I knew him before this life.

I hear it in his voice when he sings. I can feel it when he holds my hand. When he wears his uniform. I recognize it from his laugh. I sense it... I know it

That was reiterated about a year ago when I received a blessing. In it I was told that I knew my husband before we came to this earth. That we had a unique bond that would be eternally bound in heaven. That we had a relationship that we needed to continue once we received our bodies.

I hope you too will recognize those familiar moments. Maybe you see somebody at the clothing store and you make an eye connection and there is just something more. Maybe you have a similar experience with your own spouse or children or grandchildren. Maybe its your high school buddies or college roommate. Embrace those moments and be thankful for them!