The River Is Waiting

by Wally Lamb

We talked to each other four or five times a week, ending calls with “I love you” and “I love you more.”

I beg a god I don’t believe in to make this not be happening.

How can I still be in the world when you’re not? I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but if I could know that… somehow…”

‘Worrying is carrying tomorrow’s load with today’s strength—carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.’—Corrie ten Boom.”

I watch a blur of trees and cars, storefronts and pedestrians—glimpses of the freedom I’ve just lost.

“To those who live in prisons of their own or others’ making.”

I’m trying to open my mind to the possibility of some deeper truths. Trying to see the light and move in that direction.

Having hope is kind of like praying. Like asking God for something and hoping He’ll hear you. But if you have an expectation, it’s more like a demand than a prayer. Like you’re saying, here’s what I expect, God, so make it happen for me.

Interacting with art is about being immersed in its mysteries, not solving them—getting to the bottom of what they mean.

If there was a god, here’s what I’d want to know. Can a man who caused the death of his child ever atone enough to be forgiven? Is absolution even possible?

Does it all just come down to that one worst thing I did? I guess I know the answer to that one.…

Knowing the difference between hope and expectations has helped me

How could I ever have expected her forgiveness when I can never forgive myself?