Really though, I know that they don't. Unless they only receive good news. Because it's Heaven and all.
But if they were to receive the news of the day, Jim would be very disappointed. In spite of what I tried to tell him.
You see, he was a bike rider. He loved it. He took part in the MS150, no matter what misgivings I had. And I had them, but I knew that he loved it.
I also knew that he was mental, but I gave way on this event.
Once he started getting into biking, he started wearing that yellow rubber bracelet. I hated that bracelet. But I put up with it ...... for a time.
He admired Lance Armstrong.
And all that he had accomplished. In spite of ...... so much.
I did not.
Because that was around the same time that we all learned that he had cheated on his wife.
And on his three children.
I was not a fan.
To say the least.
So when Jim started to wear that bracelet, I was quiet.
For a while.
And then I told him how I felt about Lance. And about him wearing that bracelet.
Interestingly enough, as strongly as Jim felt about men cheating on their wives (and he felt very, VERY strongly about it) he continued to wear that bracelet.
For a while.
I told him how I felt.
Once or twice. And then I let it go.
By that time in our marriage I had given up on "harping". I knew what worked. And more importantly, what didn't.
With age comes wisdom.
Most of the time.
After a while, I'm not sure how long after I told him how I felt, Jim stopped wearing that yellow bracelet.
I don't remember exactly when, but I do know that it wasn't all that long before he died.
I do remember feeling a sense of relief ...... and justice, I guess, when he quit wearing it.
And now, five years later ...... I am more disappointed in Lance than I thought possible. Not for myself ...... not at all. I was never as certain about his innocence as many people were. In my mind, if a man cheats on his wife, then he's more than capable of cheating on blood-doping, or steroid-taking.
But my disappoint was for Jim ...... and what he would've thought. And how disappointed he would've been.
His disappointment would've been huge.
But only for a while.
Because, while he admired Lance and all that he accomplished (seemingly through nothing but sheer will and hard work) ...... he knew that he was only human.
And every human is subject to the temptations and lures of this world ...... and the chance to be seen as "super human".
Jim admired Lance, to be sure, for all he had accomplished. And he would be disappointed to learn that he didn't accomplish any of that on his own.
But Jim would also remember that we cannot put our faith into anyone human. We can admire them, yes. We can hope to attain something that they've attained, but we cannot put our hope in them.
Jim's hope was in God.
And God alone.
As is mine.
People are just that. People. Human beings. Fallible.
God is not.
And while it makes me sad that Jim would've been so very disappointed in Lance, and all of the cheating he really did ...... I know that he would've thought about that for a while ..... and then let it go.
Because Lance is human.
God is not.
Thankfully.
Happy Monday, Peeps.
:)
1 comment:
interesting post. Dave had absolutely no tolerance for anyone who cheated on their spouse, probably because his first wife cheated on him. He also had no tolerance for anyone who cheated in athletics. As a coach he no tolerance for anything but the best behavior both on and off the court. He was pretty hung up on the fact that his kids be known more for their sportsmanlike behavior than any winning record.
That being said however, he was not necessarily a "fan" of Armstrong, nor a supporter. But he did think that his comeback after cancer DESPITE the possibility of performance enhancing drugs was remarkable. Maybe it was because of his own diagnosis and going through chemo an transplant and all..... But he thought that Armstrong did some good by showing people that you could overcome and come back from a bad diagnosis. I have wondered the past few weeks if he would think any different now that he knew all of the facts.
and he wore the yellow bracelet as well. But then again he was pretty supportive of any organization that gave to cancer research, and I think he wore it more as a symbol of support of people with cancer than supporting Armstrong.
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