Gratitude.

Such a simple word. Such a difficult action, at times. Recently I have been reminded how grateful and thankful I am for those that surround me in my life, especially my day to day life. People that encourage me, bless me, support me, and challenge me. People who just do life with me. The good and the bad.

When I decided to pursue this crazy idea of opening my own business, much to my surprise, no one seemed overly surprised. I had so many who were just plain excited for me and proud of me for chasing my dreams. I was surrounded by supportive friends and family who truly believed I could "make it" in this industry... even when I wasn't so sure. And when I have doubts about my abilities or my potential or being able to book new clients, I have these incredible people cheering me on, giving me the confidence to take the next step forward.

Recently, I've been talking with a friend about an upcoming marathon. She is running the half, and I am running the full. My goal is to run it in 3:25. That would be a Boston-qualifying time... and racing in the Boston marathon has been a dream of mine for years. Her goal is to run her half in 1:45. Where she thinks that's insane, I know she is fully capable. But I feel like my goal is insane, yet she says I am fully capable. That dynamic is so funny to me for many reasons, but knowing someone has that much faith in me leaves my cup overflowing. The incredible thing is, these are the kinds of people I am surrounded by. People who dream with me. Who celebrate with my successes, no matter how small they seem to the outside world. Who mourn with me during hard times. And I just can't begin to tell you how blessed and GRATEFUL I am for them.

The beautiful thing about these relationships is that they point me back to God. I have had many a friend in my life walk away after some time. Sometimes, without explanation. To me, it felt like I finally became too much for them. I was no longer worth it. I was a burden, a nuisance, an inconvenience. But these friends, these relationships I have now... they are with me. And I don't have this fear that they are leaving. I can be myself. My crazy, big, ridiculous, broken self, without fear of chasing them away. And I know I am loved immensely. If that's not a picture of the Father's love for me, I don't know what is. These friends, these people, they are faithful. And they love me even when I'm hard to love.

That same runner friend of mine recently posted this on Facebook: "It's nice to have people in my life to celebrate victories with... Even when things seem insignificant to most, there are those few who will do a little happy dance with me. I cherish those people." To those people in my life, you know who you are. You are incredible. I am so grateful for you. You have stood by me, and I know that's no easy task. I am a handful. And yet, here we are, doing life together. And there is no other word to encompass my heart for you but this: gratitude.

P.S. Photo credit goes to the wonderful Mallory Carr. Thank you for supporting me and thank you for the actual photos of me doing what I love!