Consider this situation given in Principles of Physics:
Push horizontally on a heavy crate. The crate doesn't move. From Newton's second law, a second force must also be acting on the crate to counteract your force. Moreover, this second force must be directed opposite your force and have the same magnitude as your force, so that the two forces balance. That second force is the frictional force.
However, I am not in agreement with this because I feel that "second force" is the normal force exerted by the crate on me which is equal to the force that I exert on the crate (Newton's Third Law).
Could someone please explain how my understanding of this concept of static friction wrong? Also, please try to support your answers with diagrams which would help me visualise the matter more clearly.