Every war is the war for whoever's lived through it.

The Fall was ongoing, but its trajectory led ever downward.

Be thankful for every day. Learn from mistakes. Don't dwell on regrets. Forgive with love. Gain strength from every struggle.

When we grow careless of keeping our souls, then God recovers our taste of good things again by sharp crosses.

If I had a dollar for every time someone made fun of me in high school-oh wait, I do!

One step at a time, over the years, as I sought to plumb the mystery of suffering (which cannot be plumbed), I began to see that there is a sense in which everything is a gift. Even my widowhood.

I can easily quote the saying: Misfortunes never come singly.

It's difficult in times like these: ideals, dreams and cherished hopes rise within us, only to be crushed by grim reality.

I was usually filled with a sense of something like shame until I'd remember that wonderful line of Blake's- that we are here to learn to endure the beams of love- and I would take a long deep breath and force these words out of my strangulated throat: Thank you.

It really IS easier to experience spiritual connection when your life is in the process of coming apart.

As far as I can recall, none of the adults in my life ever once remembered to say, "Some people have a thick skin and you don't. Your heart is really open and that is going to cause pain, but that is an appropriate response to this world. The cost is high, but the blessing of being compassionate is beyond your wildest dreams. However, you're not going to feel that a lot in seventh grade. Just hang on.

Frequently, as so many poets and psalmists and songwriters have said, the invisible shift happens through the broken places.