Health is caring - for yourself and others

In this special Spring Health issue of Between The Lines we bring you stories and resources to get your body, mind and spirit retuned and reinvigorated. We've come up with suggestions to help you eat right, exercise and play safe. We also encourage you to reach out and get involved in a social or community group – to expand your network of friends and to increase your impact on your local community, because total health includes physical, emotional and spiritual well-being.
An age-old adage states that you can't be any good for someone else until you can take care of yourself first. Many of us seek to complete ourselves by finding that perfect person to fill in the gaps, and that's what can get us into trouble. Because life and relationships are unpredictable, it is best to enter both with as many resources as reserves as possible.
That's why we encourage our readers to care for yourselves first. Check out the health food stores that cater to the organic epicure, and find a workout regime that's fun and empowering for you. (Ever tried mountain biking?) We encourage you to expand your comfort zone and try something different, like yoga, massage, maybe even a psychic reading. Who knows – maybe you'll tap into something within you that you never knew existed.
Healthy individuals are able to enjoy one of the greatest joys in life – the chance to share life with someone else. Intimate relationships require courage and strength, enough to endure life's joys and tragedies. In this issue we write about Tom Paschke and Tim Lucas, a loving couple that enjoyed a picturesque gay life until Tim suffered a devastating stroke, shattering their reality. Their faith and love for each other pulled them through the acute phase of Tim's recovery. Hope and commitment is providing both of them with the strength to believe that Tim will have a more complete recovery, with dignity, in his own home.
Society has constructed the institution of marriage, with its many rules, regulations, privileges, expectations and norms. Although the LGBT movement seeks to acquire the tangible benefits for same-sex couples afforded to married, heterosexual couples, no outside force has the transformative power of love. Love makes and defines a family, and healthy, committed love can truly create miracles. It would be nice to be able to get married, but just because we can't doesn't diminish our power to deeply love each other and to create our families.
Those who dare to question the legitimacy of LGBT families should spend a little time with Tim and Tom, or any of the thousands of LGBT families in Michigan who have committed to love and honor each other, in sickness and in health. They could then see for themselves whether their diminutive, preconceived notion of same-sex love holds up in the stark light of reality.
We believe they would be surprised. We believe that LGBT families are as healthy and strong as any others, and that the commitment and love that holds them together is miraculous.