The Water is there. It is always there. Call them. Show them the way.

She must come through on her own," said Ruwach calmly. "Others can call her, and I can make it accessible for her, but she must make the choice on her own.

Because in running toward what I thought was better, safer, more pleasurable, more fulfilling, less painful, less complicated, or less confining, I've actually been running from God, from His will, and from His blessing. And I'm tired of running. Aren't you?

Fighting the low-level cloud cover that's blocking out what you're wanting to see break through into your life.

I cannot stop anyone from making wrong choices. I can only help them make the right ones." There was deep sadness in Ruwach's tone, rooted in love, as if he would have done anything to prevent Brianna from suffering the consequences of her choice.

The happiest pillow on which you may rest your head is the knowledge of God's will. I cannot imagine a more miserable situation than consciously to be out of God's will.

Life is a gift, however long it lasts. It's God's to give and take away as He sees fit. We go through life thinking we're entitled to our ninety, but we're not entitled to anything. All we can do is trust that He knows what He's doing. That He has a plan for all of us, and that no pain He allows in our life will go unused.

God, what is going on? Why are You leaving me with the one man who has the power to break me?

In one case, you're hoping someone else will do the right thing. In the other case, you're directing your own life, even if someone else does something stupid. Guess which path is going to be more successful.

One of the most important lessons of life—one I believe most people never learn—is that almost everything important is a choice. We choose whether to be happy (or, at the very least whether to act happy), whether to be a hard worker, whether to be honest, whether to be kind, whether to see miracles, and, yes, whether to believe in God (or, at the very least, live as if there is a God).

But answering requests is not the primary role of God, and many people who believe it is will become disappointed and perhaps even alienated from God.

Many people avoid some of the very things that would bring them the deepest happiness such as marriage, children, intellectually challenging pursuits, religious commitment, and volunteer work. They fear the pain that inevitably accompanies such things and therefore devote more time to 'fun' things that bring little happiness, such as watching television.