Love and Endurance

Sunday was filled with thematic elements of the above two words for me.

I was blessed to be invited to share the post-nuptial brunch of two dear friends J & D who returned from a whirlwind trip with family on a mega-bus to Washington, DC to be married!  Why didn't they get married here in Tennessee?  Because we still don't recognize their marriage here.  Yes, they are two men...two wonderful, gorgeous, smart, funny, fabulous, phenomenal, stylish, handsome and endearingly sweet men whom I have grown to love since I met them last fall.  I loved hearing the story of their trip, seeing the pictures of their wedding and the smiles on their faces.  My favorite pictures were the of their hugs and holding...such love in their eyes and in the embraces.  Dedication and love.  Regardless of gender, love is LOVE.  I truly believe that anyone willing to dedicate their lives to one another and legally agree to put up with each other's BS for better or worse, should be allowed the right to make that legal.  One day, they wrote on their Facebook page, they hope to stand in the state where they live and legally be able to refer to each others as married.  Enduring...love...

After brunch, we went to assist at an aid/refreshment station for the Rev-3 Triathlon held here in Knoxville.  I admire the endurance of these people who swim, bike and run through a grueling race because they really want to do it.  They do it for various reasons, because they love the challenge, they live for pushing their bodies farther and faster.  I'm always surprised at how gracious the runners are and how appreciative they are that we non-athletes volunteer to show up and help them along their way.  Whatever we're doing: handing out a cup of water, Gatorade, a pack of GU energy gel, a banana half, grape bunch, pretzel stick or salt tablet to one of these athletes reminds me that we all need the encouragement and help to endure whatever race we're running.  Whether it's our attempts to break old cycles of behavior that haven't served us well, our attempts to lose weight or to keep going our journey to love ourselves...we all need someone to give us a hand and tell us that we're doing our best and that we should keep going because we're "doing great!"  Not perfect...but we're enduring.

Hopefully we can all do that...love and endure.  Aiming to not only love one another, but work to give one another the extra push of help, encouragement or understanding along our journey. I hope that if J & D ever need some of that "nourishment" along their way that they know that the Jim and I are here to cheer them along. In a world where so many people are abandoning their hopes I truly believe that their love will go the distance.