Love has no agenda …

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How would your life change if you were to lose weight and satisfy the hunger that food can’t?

To help answer the question, I also posed it to Keith Ahrens, the man I introduced earlier who lost 200 pounds, became a fitness trainer and wrote his memoir “Outrunning My Shadow.”

“I wish I had a video camera when I see someone I haven’t seen in a few years,” says Ahrens. “Each time has been a very special moment.”

Even those close to Ahrens who were cheering him on are astounded by his transformation.

Since he’s never married or had children, one of those closest to him is a niece who recently spent the weekend with him. When Ahrens found her crying with his new memoir, she explained that she had not realized the depth of his pain and his struggle.

How is it that we hide our suffering (and our hearts) even from those closest to us? Perhaps we hide it from ourselves as well — until we must face it as part of a bigger issue, generally with an audience. For Ahrens it was open-heart surgery to save his life; for somebody else it might be another obesity-related disease, divorce or missing out on a promotion.… More

Dear Friends,

I spent most of my adult life single; so I suppose I’ve had more than my share of Christmas dates.

It was on the Christmas Eve of 2005, 15 years ago, that I kissed this Santa for the very first time. And exactly six months later, I married him. He is one challenging Santa to be sure, as I am one challenging Mrs. Claus.

I didn’t wonder if I loved him or if I should marry him. I just knew. We shared the same concept of love and the same resolve to live it. I even had signs. At the time, those signs seemed like an unnecessary gift.

But the source of all knowing knew the growth required by love, that same love we were resolved to live. And to grow is to stretch our comfort zone … not for a few months or a few years, but for as long as we wish to grow.

I say these words, not with regret, but with appreciation. It is with a grateful heart that I am forever reaching a deeper knowing of love, peace on the path, sweetness in the sorrow, and joy in the learning.

There is no quest, no hero’s journey, that circumvents becoming a hero OF LOVE.… More

And God bless us every one. … More

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