Have you been struggling with feelings of sadness, hurt, or deep wounds? Hope is always possible and love heals us through understanding and the process of reconciliation.

Becca Stevens, president and founder of Thistle Farms, reveals true stories of joy and healing where hurtfulness is transformed into compassion. Love Heals is her first book in a series that will grace readers with wisdom and hope.

The Power Of Loving" is a powerful exploration of the ways that loving actions produce healing in our lives. Although we may not always like the outcome, actions we take out of pureness and kindness can change the course of our lives.

Those actions must be done with an intention to heal rather than react, defend, or suppress our natural instincts. Love heals actions and thoughts alike, but it takes the intention to act from a place of respectful intention to a place of total love and reverence.

In our culture today there are few opportunities for total wholeness. Work, family, friends, and community obligations keep many of us within boxes and strings.

We are boxed in so many ways and the pressure to perform at expectations while pleasing others becomes constant stress. Love, a force for good, can bring a sense of safety and well-being that is missing from our lives.

To heal the hurt and pain, we have to release the anger and resist being consumed by it. Releasing anger allows freedom and healing to move forward. To heal hurts we have to be gentle with ourselves.

Healing is about releasing pain and anger without picking it up and putting it on others. Appreciation and caring are also part of loving acts that help to heal. The act of giving and receiving love is a powerful healing practice that can help anyone heal.

When we let go of fear and continue on with love, we move toward wholeness. Wholeness includes happiness, fulfillment, pleasure, joy, peace, and kindness.

Each of us was born for greatness. We each deserve to have what we want. When we get trapped by fear, worry, anger, or sadness, our energy takes us away from who we are supposed to be and we become someone else. Love heals through giving and receiving, not fighting and resisting.

Love as a whole cannot be expressed in words because it is a feeling. This is why love heals so well. It is easy for everyone to say "I love you" when they are in love. The love that is felt when one is loved has no limits and no conditions. It is unconditional and truly comes from the heart.

This unconditional love that comes from loving someone else unconditionally helps us heal. In time, our defenses go down, especially if we express our love to those whom we love. When we do have an experience where the love is genuine, our spirit lifts and we are better prepared for the next time. This is the basis for healing.

If you would like to have your own personal experience with a healing with love, consider writing a poem or saying a few lines. You can then give this to someone who is going through the same thing.

Sharing the experience and how you feel it will give others the encouragement they need to feel the same way about themselves. Love heals; let it be your motivation in your own healing journey.

As I have mentioned, unconditional love is something that does not have conditions, but it gives us the ability to choose whom we are attracted to and from a given list of characteristics.

It helps us to heal and to build a better self-image. It gives us the courage to accept someone into our lives and not worry about whether they are being true to us. Love is not selfish; it is not easy to love someone and then not want them.

For some reason, many people seem to think that all of us have been created equal. I am sure that we have not and we all deserve love and respect just as much as anyone else.

To live in a world where people are not truly loved or respected does not make sense to me. We should desire to be loved and respected more than anything else in the world.

For those of us that do not feel this way, the world would be a better place. It would be a better place when those around us were willing to love others with all of their heart without conditions.

It would be easier for those of us that have been conditioned to believe that love only comes with certain circumstances. When we are taught to embrace unconditional love, we are able to give others the same understanding and love that we receive.