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Pain is the highway guardrails in the journey of life that leads us to true pleasure.

The issue here is the illusion of pleasure vs. true pleasure.

In the first part of my life I was driven for success, money, power, control... and I was very successful, so I thought. I used to joke that I had done more by the time I was 30 than most people do in a lifetime. While growing up dirt poor, I started working construction at age 12 and purchased my first apartment building when I was 15. By the time I was 30 I was pretty well off and ready to retire.

And then, at age 32 I died, went to Heaven and found true pleasure. But they sent me back. Not by my choice, but my purpose was here. Suddenly, all the money in the world was worthless. I didn’t care about anything except regaining the nirvanic pleasure I had experienced in Heaven. I actually wanted to die in order to experience it again.

I not only lost my fear of death, but actually looked forward to it and welcomed it. I prayed, and prayed... non stop, “Let me come home again.”

However, some days I think God is a little bit sadistic in enjoying my pain as when I cried and fell to hit absolute bottom, saying “God please let me come home.” I heard His voice respond, “Love Me in all the people around you.”

But God, it’s not the same... “Look harder.” “Look within them not at them.”..... And thus the journey... We must learn to Love even our enemies. We must learn to see God, even in our enemies. Wow, what a difficult task.

I remembered Jesus words when He was being crucified, “Father forgive them.....” And Steven in Acts when he was being stoned..”Father forgive them.” They know not what they do... Dying is not our greatest lesson. That was easy. The hard part is learning to Love everyone, yes, even our enemies. 1John 4 says it all. It’s about being Love.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: in this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

In this year of our elections, yes we must also Love Hillary. Not her behavior or values, but the spirit of God in her that created her in His image. If we demonize her and hate her, we become like her. We lose.