Vujicic Kanae - Love Without Limits

We thank Jesus Christ for His true, unfailing, and never-ending love. We dedicate this work to the glory of God and pray that this book inspires and encourages all who are searching for love and hope.

In loving memory of my father in-law, Kiyoshi Miyahara, and my uncle, Milo Vujicic.

W elcome to Love Without Limits, a book that I hope will inspire and benefit you and many others looking for guidance on finding love and sustaining loving relationships.

This books title springs from a couple of sources, one of which is Life Without Limbs, the nonprofit organization that supports my evangelical work around the world. The name relates to the fact that while I was born without arms or legs, my God-given purpose to inspire others has resulted not in being disabled but rather in my becoming highly enabled to live a full life without limbs.

My first book spun the life without limbs phrase and took it a step further. We called that book Life Without Limits, because in it I shared my experiences and thoughts on building a ridiculously good life no matter what challenges you face, whether they are physical, mental, or emotional.

That brings us to the origins of this books title, Love Without Limits. Ive often written and spoken about the insecurities that dogged me as a child and young man. Because of my lack of limbs, I feared no woman would ever love me or want to marry me. I had many doubts about my fitness as both a husband and father. Frankly, there were people close to me who had their own concerns in that regard. Some thought I would never marry or be able to support a family of my own.

For a long time, it seemed they might be right. I had the usual grade school crushes, but no long-term relationships in my teenage years. Only in my twenties did I begin to feel more confident. By the time I was twenty-seven years old, Id had some relationships that started out strong but ended sadly. One of them, in particular, was quite serious.

When this girl broke it off because she would not move forward without her parents blessing, I was devastated. At that point, it seemed there were very real limits to the amount of love in this world, at least for me in my quest for a wife. Even though my family and closest friends were there for me, Id become all but convinced that no woman would want to marry such an obviously imperfect man as me.

As you will learn in the pages that follow, I was flat wrong about that. So wrong, in fact, that Im a little embarrassed to remember how despondent and self-critical Id become after losing at love. Many people think of me as an upbeat, undefeatable person, but when it came to matters of the heart, for a while I struggled to stay positive.

I didnt give myself enough credit, for sure, but even scarier, I didnt give enough credit to God or to His gift of lasting love between two people. I dont want you to make that mistake if youve struggled as I did while waiting for God to send someone to love you. As you likely know, God brought me an incredible woman whose capacity for loving me astounds me every day. If you take nothing else away from this book, please put the following thoughts in your heart and live accordingly. They are the primary messages I want to share.

Never give up on love if love is what you want, because God planted that desire in your heart for a purpose.

You are worthy of love because you are the creation of a loving Father.

There is someone who could love you and share your life.

A successful marriage requires reciprocal and unselfish love as well as a shared, deep, and lasting commitment.

Parenthood will test your marriage. It will also strengthen your bonds of love, but only if you develop deep empathy and unwavering support for each other by putting your familys welfare above self-interest.

The work of being married is mostly about giving up our naturally self-centered ways and learning day by day to put God first, our spouses and family second, and ourselves third.

Your marriage, your family, and your home should always be a safe, loving, caring, and comforting placea refuge from the world and all of its challenges.

If you need further proof of the truthfulness of the previous words, look again at the books cover photograph. There youll see the lovely face of my wife, Kanae, who taught me that there are no limits on love.

My wife is physically beautiful, for certain, but you cant see the half of her true beauty in any photograph. Our perfect God has filled her with His perfect love, and she, in turn, loves me, such an imperfect man! For that reason, I know without a doubt that love has no limits.

Still, to be loved, you must feel worthy of love, and to be worthy of love, you must be willing to make sure you are deserving of this wondrous gift. Heres the thing that many people fail to grasp: To receive love, you must first give it to someone else. This means, in essence, that you must love someone so much that you will put that persons needs ahead of your own.