Holy Unhappiness Quotes

“We are a culture that has forgotten how to be sad. We don't know how to grieve or be angry. We palliate pain, and numb discomfort with drugs, entertainment, busyness and productivity. We've marginalized unhappiness, removed it from our vocabulary. Most negative feelings have been pathologized, stigmatized, and named as being outside the realm of normal. Instead, we have normalized peace, prosperity and positivity. We whitewash our narratives, leave out all the shameful failures of our American origin story. We close our ears to the truth. We insist on bliss. When a task or commitment or relationship becomes too emotionally difficult, we jump ship, lest the bad feelings weigh down our lives.”
― Amanda Held Opelt, Holy Unhappiness: God, Goodness, and the Myth of the Blessed Life

“If I am tired, it is because I’ve tried. I’ve tried with all my might to be a good mother. And I think, most days, I am.”
― Amanda Held Opelt, Holy Unhappiness: God, Goodness, and the Myth of the Blessed Life

“Logic doesn't always hold up against the complexity of real life. Our equations fail us. Our formulas break down and reasons escape us. We carry blessing, and we carry curse. Life is paradox. It cannot always be categorized. Seemingly competing truths coexist. Humans are not creatures of either/or. We are creatures of both/and. And so is God.”
― Amanda Held Opelt, Holy Unhappiness: God, Goodness, and the Myth of the Blessed Life

“A theology that is partially true and partially false is especially insidious because it's easy to defend and difficult to denounce.”
― Amanda Held Opelt, Holy Unhappiness: God, Goodness, and the Myth of the Blessed Life

“My evangelical upbringing had prepared me for the concept of suffering, but not for the actual experience of it.”
― Amanda Held Opelt, Holy Unhappiness: God, Goodness, and the Myth of the Blessed Life