To Love More Completely

Ok - so this is a short one, but a thought that I felt warranted posting...

I was writing about something else when I realized that my Catholic faith has taught me to love more completely. It's true. I was always a loving person, but there was definitely a limit to my willingness to love and forgive. Now, I know that I am capable of so much more...more than I ever imagined was possible.

In my life, I've experienced quite a bit of pain and sadness. I've had to overcome all of it and am better for it. However, I still carry some of those scars with me. Yes, they've faded, but it's hard to remove them altogether.

That's another area in my life where I realize Catholicism has had an immeasurable impact on my life. As a result of my pain and suffering, I've learned to close people off at a certain point...to get rid of baggage - especially if I perceived a person as hurting me or having the ability to hurt me. Yep, they were out pretty quickly -- OR -- I would find a way to sabotage that relationship so I didn't have to be vulnerable to the pain later. Ugh - silly, I know.

My journey of faith has taught me to rise above the fear and push through it. As a result, I've been able to sustain more long-term relationships, create healthy bonds with friends and family and build an incredibly fulfilling marriage. I owe this to God. It was God who led me on this path and showed me the way. He allowed certain people into my life that had a profound and lasting effect on me. People who are still in my life and people I cherish beyond words. Catholicism "saved" me, basically. It helped me to find the healing I so desperately needed and then, it helped me to find "my way" in this world. Pretty amazing, right? Yeah, I think so, too.