Sunday Thoughts

I had the most amazing time celebrating a dear friend Rebecca's marriage yesterday. We drove up to Chattanooga and then just came back this evening. It was a beautiful and simple wedding which had gorgeous details. Since the wedding was early afternoon, she brought in a coffee and doughnut cart for guests. It was a unique approach that I haven't seen. I know food trucks are a growing trend with weddings, and I loved the coffee and doughnuts. They also had other finger foods and tea. We went out to dinner afterward and had amazing burgers at Urban Stack in Chattanooga.

Every wedding I attend makes me think about my own now. Hearing my friends say those same vows makes me overly emotional. Marriage is such a huge thing to promise someone, and I have such hope and joy for my friends. I can't help but reflect on my wedding and that inspired the poem for today. One of our readings was from Khalil Gibran's The Prophet. I love the sentiments in this poem. To me, it highlights the importance of the individual within marriage. Our other reading was Carry Your Heart With Me by e.e Cummings. That poem is my favorite, as evidenced by the name of my blog. These two readings have different ideas of love and marriage, but I think it is important to have a balance between the two in any relationships.

Love one another, but make not a bond of love:

Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.

Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.

Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf

Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,

Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. 

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.

For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.

And stand together yet not too near together:

For the pillars of the temple stand apart,

And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

I tried to think of what piece of art best represented Rebecca. She and I met while studying abroad in Verona, Italy. She is a wonderful person, and perhaps one of the best representations of true Christianity I have ever met. She is so loving, forgiving and full of grace. I immediately thought about Michelangelo's Pieta in Rome. It depicts Mary cradling Jesus after the crucifixion. It is beautiful and also heartbreaking. 

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I was lucky enough to see this statue in person in Rome. It is even more breathtaking in person, and anyone who visits Rome should be sure to go to St. Peters to see it.