Love has no agenda …

… More

Remember your favorite fairytale? What can it teach you about yourself, why you’ve done what you’ve done and, perhaps, what you’re still waiting for?

Mine was “Cinderella.” She diligently swept and sang, undeterred and untainted by her mean stepmother and stepsisters. And, she was rewarded … with a prince, no less.

It’s so telling. I spent a big chunk of my life trying to smile while I forged ahead with what I thought was expected of a “good” person.

As it turns out, the sun and the rain come down on the just and the not so just. Darn, I knew that; I grew up with the Bible. And good behavior is its own reward — provided our motivation is pure.

It’s tempting to turn our good behavior into a self-righteous cloak that makes us better than everybody else … only a self-righteous cloak doesn’t really score any “good” points.
I recently watched the movie “Michael” for the first time. It’s about a scratch-where-it-itches angel who ate too much sugar and taught people to take the long way home and laugh more.

Played by John Travolta, Michael probably defies your fairytale images. We don’t just get confused (at a very young age) about what our goodness looks like; we get confused about what goodness in general looks like.… More

To forgive is always the right thing to do, but to forgive doesn’t mean to betray yourself or deny the truth.

If somebody wants a second, or third, or fourth chance, it’s okay to ask, “Why will it be different this time?” And unless they’re able to spill a heart full of evidence as to why it will be different, you can move on without feeling guilty.

Forgiveness frees us to move forward. But it doesn’t dictate that we move forward WITH the one we forgive. … More

… More

We don’t love because somebody needs it, desires it, or deserves it … or because they have something we want. We love because we must do to be true to our very nature.

When we fail to love because of our judgment of somebody else, we don’t betray that somebody. We betray ourselves; and that betrayal grows within us like a cancer. But there is a cure. Unconditional love … anything less isn’t really love. … More