There are so many wonderful things I have experienced by practicing the LOA. I have always known that we have power within ourselves to achieve anything we set our minds to. Somewhere along the journey of life we give it away. I am on the road to regain that control.

I have experienced what it feels like to be truly grateful. It is a feeling unlike any other that fills your whole being. There is one person I am especially grateful to. He was literally gifted to me as we met on a cruise that I actually wasn’t supposed to be on (a friend had a convention for work to attend and asked me to come along – I should have been in Europe). He had booked the cruise on a whim before being deployed to Afghanistan for a year, so he was alone. While attending a party one night while at sea, the friend I was with approached him to thank him for his service to our country and our freedom. Since he was alone we invited him to hang out with our group. We ended up exchanging contact info at the end of the cruise as we usually do when we meet people in our travels. (My friends and I love to travel and do it as often as we get a chance to!)

Fast forward a few months… he has finally settled into a base in Afghanistan to serve his year of deployment. He had kept in touch with my friend intermittently. At some point he’d attempted to send me an email but it had bounced back. Before going on another one of my trips I decided to send him an email rather than sending a message through my friend. I figured I’d do my part in supporting our troops by sending a personal message. He sent back a quick email and a few days later I received the monthly update (during his first deployment he’d gotten the idea to send out monthly “chapters” to family and friends). I emailed him back and the exchange was cordial but nothing else.

Then, on my birthday, he sent me the sweetest birthday wish. Totally blew me away! His birthday is 4 days later. I was at a conference that day and sent him an e-card. He told me he didn’t think I’d remembered but that he was touched to find out I had!

We began to exchange emails regularly and by the time his R & R came around (9 months into his deployment), we had hoped he could visit. We were unable to meet up because by the time he finalized his dates I had booked a cruise to Alaska. He would be visiting family in the East Coast and I live in the West Coast. I knew we would have no contact while I was at sea nor while he was in transit.

On the day we were cruising the Inside Passage I found myself on the upper deck admiring the scenery. There was a stillness which enhanced the serene and gorgeous place I was blessed to see – pure bliss. I was completely alone (now for those of you who have cruised, you can imagine how difficult that would be when there are about 1500 passengers on board). I knew he was due to arrive back in the states but I had no way of knowing for sure. I sent out a prayer for a sign that would let me know he had arrived safely. At just that moment a white fish jumped out from the side of the ship and glimmered in the sunlight before disappearing in the waves. I still get goose bumps remembering how beautiful that moment was because up until that point I had not seen any living creature out in the wild. No birds, fish, nor whales. But the sense of peace I was filled with is indescribable. I will hold this in my heart forever.

May all of you find moments of bliss as you go along your journey!

And just to share, he is on his way home and will be back any day now. He is coming for his first visit to the West Coast in a few weeks. He is my Gift and I am so thankful to the Universe for such a blessing. The best part is that he has told me how grateful he is for me… we know **God** gifted us to each other.