"Do not hesitate to love and to love deeply. You might be afraid of the pain that deep love can cause. When those you love deeply reject you, leave you, or die, your heart will be broken. But that should not hold you back from loving deeply. The pain that comes from deep love makes your love even more fruitful. It is like a plow that breaks the ground to allow the seed to take root and grow into a strong plant. Every time you experience the pain of rejection, absence, or death, you are faced with a choice. You can become bitter and decide not to love again, or you can stand straight in your pain and let the soil on which you stand become richer and more able to give life to new seeds." (Henri Nouwen)

The one thing that could make us more fully who we are called to be is the one thing that the Evil One uses to prevent us from reaching our potential. I remember a teen ager at a Conference sobbing profusely, while sitting in a fetal position. When I went to minister to her, she would only say, "Love hurts." She was experiencing God's love and was afraid to respond to him. She had been hurt in the past and was afraid to respond to love. By God's grace she made the decision to open herself up to God's love.  Jesus calls us to love and to be open to love. The Evil One, who is the absence of love, seeks to block us with his lies. God gives us the grace to break new ground.