The Mason Jar Quotes

“It’s okay if you feel like you must leave. But as the years pass and you remember our time together and you’re at a place or with a person who makes you wonder what happened to the goodness in humanity, if you ask yourself if you were ever loved by someone other than those within your immediate family, the answer is yes. There was a boy you knew in college who loved you. A part of him will love you the rest of his life. No matter how much land or ocean or time separates the two of you, he will be there for you if you ever need him.”
― James Russell Lingerfelt, The Mason Jar

“I once sneered at comments like, “He fell in love,” because I was always taught that love is action. I still believe that. But I now understood what people meant by the expression. You really are just living your everyday life, walking around, and then you trip. Just as you realize what’s happening, you’ve already fallen. It’s too late.”
― James Russell Lingerfelt, The Mason Jar

“She was wrapped in my jacket, almost swallowed by it. You never realize how small a woman is until she wears your clothes.”
― James Russell Lingerfelt, The Mason Jar

“Grandpa stopped and looked at me. I paused, too, knowing this meant he had something important to say. His body was frail, but when he stood with his chin up like that, staring into my eyes, I had no choice but to respond with complete honesty. He could level me with that look. I was like a vulnerable child every time he did it.”
― James Russell Lingerfelt, The Mason Jar

“I went for walks across the fields in my cozy, cotton-knit shirt, my worn out jeans, and my cowboy boots. I would stand at the pasture fence and watch the sun set. One day, pink ripples trailed its red ball; then the next it was a yellow bulb shining against gold-dusted clouds. Though it seemed as if heaven was on the other side of the hill, for some reason, the sunset was sad. At night, I would sit in the rocking chair by the fire with a cup of coffee and a book in my hand, a practice I had grown to love over the years. But what was once refreshing was now depressing. And when I stopped to ask myself what was wrong with me to see the world as so dull, dark, and worn-out looking, I remembered.”
― James Russell Lingerfelt, The Mason Jar

“Grandpa would go for strolls alone through the pastures where meadowlarks and grasshoppers flew like broken-winged birds, where rabbits constructed their havens, and where thick-coated coyotes and red-tailed foxes sniffed and searched them out.”
― James Russell Lingerfelt, The Mason Jar

“So we went for a stroll in Alumni Park, a grassy lawn in front of Pepperdine that overlooks the coast. Deer trickle down from the hills and rocky bluffs to graze there. The coral trees rise like watchtowers over a pond where fresh water reeds grow, providing a small refuge for ducks and wild birds. At night, a full moon leaves a trail on the ocean’s black waters, and the constant coastal breeze disturbs the tree limbs, sending their leaves into a continuous stirring.”
― James Russell Lingerfelt, The Mason Jar

“As a child, crisp spring afternoons were spent wading along Reedy Creek just beyond the field. Then came the heavy breeze in the autumn, pushing off the almond, auburn, sugar-yellow and apple-red leaves into the creek, providing rafts for dragonflies. In winter, the snow upon the wood became an eerie deep, and the occasional gliding of an owl would be spotted from our bedroom. Then, to spend an afternoon walking in a snowy wood and find a scarlet red cardinal perched on a white limb, you would think God arranged that picture just for you.”
― James Russell Lingerfelt, The Mason Jar

“She shook her head, and we parted, kissing, as the first beams from the sun burst forth behind us. When I returned to my bedroom, the scent of her hair remained on my pillow. For the first time in my life, at the age of twenty-five, I was in love.”
― James Russell Lingerfelt, The Mason Jar

“Eden hid her smile in my hand and leaned down and kissed me. I took her face in my hand, her velvety skin like energy against my fingertips. Her love for her family and for people who were hurting all collided with her stunning beauty and made her irresistible. I kissed her forehead, her cheek, her neck, and her chin. Our noses touched, and she drew a shaky breath. Her hair hung around my face, creating a veil that hid us from the world.”
― James Russell Lingerfelt, The Mason Jar

“You might believe that you must stop loving Eden, but that’s not true. We can love even when we know that love will never be returned. We are allowed to love someone even if that person is gone. What we miss is their presence, but that doesn’t mean we must stop loving them.”
― James Russell Lingerfelt, The Mason Jar

“If you pour out your love to others and genuinely love people, you’ll find the healing you seek. When you’re my age, and you look back on your life, the greatest moments that stand out will be the times you poured yourself out for others.”
― James Russell Lingerfelt, The Mason Jar

“Pay attention to where your mind goes when it wanders. It’ll tell you a lot about yourself.”
― James Russell Lingerfelt, The Mason Jar

“When we see people as gifts, rather than possessions, we learn to hold them rather than cling to them. My own experience has taught me that if you love people and let them be themselves in your presence, you’ll never be short of friends.”
― James Russell Lingerfelt, The Mason Jar

“Feelings can erupt quickly and scare us. Yet they thrill and dare us to grab on tight. It’s an edge where life and death seem separated by a thin line. We know that if we love and live, then we can walk, run, and fly. But if we love and lose, we fall and wonder if crawling will ever be possible again.”
― James Russell Lingerfelt, The Mason Jar

“Now that you understand what happened and why, you can listen to the inner voice telling you your vocation, the things you can use your talents for to better the world before you leave it. You are no longer running from the world and all that has happened. You are moving toward something new, and you now have the experience to know the difference.”
― James Russell Lingerfelt, The Mason Jar