Love – “in sickness and in health”

I love you not because of who you are,

but because of who I am when I am with you.

Herman Hesse

Over the years I have gotten spoiled as I’ve officiated at some wonderful 4 and 5-star resorts. One of my favorites is The Montage in Laguna Beach.

I’ve been using the quarantine as an opportunity to sift through old files and notes I’ve kept with the intention of turning them into blog posts. Well, here’s a “snapshot” memory I am only now getting around to sharing with you. . .

I was early for Yvonne and Bijan’s ceremony at The Montage. I grabbed a corner table in the lounge. The piano player was doing his thing, filling the room with heartening classic lounge numbers.

As I was reviewing my notes, I noticed a couple (70’s) at a nearby table. The wife was in a wheelchair and from the way her body was positioned it appeared she had some sort of neurological disease. On one side of her sat a Nurse Aid and on the other side sat her husband. 

At one point, the woman’s husband reached over and rubbed her shoulder while held her hand. So gentle. So tender.

I thought of Yvonne and Bijan. Of the vows they were a little more than hour away from gifting each other: “in good times and in bad – in sickness and in health.”

I again was reminded that there is no way any bride or groom can fully comprehend the depth and scope of those words!

I then happened to glance on a young man a few tables away (30’s). He was intently reading a Bible, highlighting passages in yellow marker. He seemed so out of place in this 5-star resort lounge.

He looked not only intense – he looked unhappy.

I thought if only he would lift his head out of the Bible and look over at the couple, he would see the truest meaning of Scripture – Love.

Late Fragment

Raymond Carver

And did you get what

you wanted from this life, even so?

I did.

And what did you want?

To call myself beloved, to feel myself

beloved on the earth.