Isola

by Allegra Goodman

Never allow the subtle temptations of the world, the flesh, or the Devil to seize you.

She sighed. “Why do men like him do anything? Because they can.”

Patience, excellence, humility.

Everything we treasure has a price. And everything we have will slip away.

But I learned that silence was poor protection.

My guardian served as my protector, but I had no one to protect me from him.

“It is not how you appear,” she said, “but how you live.”

And this was another weight. Not only missing him but knowing what he missed.

In my experience, God’s work was unexpected. His grace required interpreting.

“Those who know their faults are truly wise,”