Beverly

“Part of the practice of modest faith, in times of suffering, is relinquishing our right to answers. God has never promised to explain himself, but he has promised to stay near. I will never leave, he says; I will never forsake. I am the friend that sticks closer than your brother. Do not think me unmoved by your grief. These are the faithful assurances of God as we have them in Scripture, and here is even more hope available to those willing to search it out. But let’s not be fooled to think that God has promised things like: it will get better, you’ll soon see the purpose behind this pain, there’s never more than you can handle. Often it does get better; often we do see purpose; always there is sufficient grace. But lament must practice the modest faith of finding sufficient that which God provides, even if, in seasons of great sorrow, it may not seem like enough.” …”
― Jen Pollock Michel, Surprised by Paradox: The Promise of And in an Either-Or World

“I pray for Your guidance, and I ask that the small morsel of courage I feel right now grows and remains greater than any fear that may arise.”
― Rosey Lee, The Gardins of Edin

“She (Antonia) smiled back at him. "It's still Christmas," she said very quietly. "We must not forget or ignore that. Without Christmas, there would be no hope. And I need hope: wild unreasonable, against all the logic that man can have, things only God can do.”
― Anne Perry, A Christmas Visitor

“Falsehood flies, and truth comes limping after it, so that when men come to be undeceived, it is too late; the jest is over, and the tale hath had its effect: like a man, who hath thought of a good repartee when the discourse is changed, or the company parted; or like a physician, who hath found out an infallible medicine, after the patient is dead.”
― Jonathan Swift