Quotes about Acceptance

Augustine said, "The church is a whore, but she's our mother." The early Christians said that if we do not accept the church as our mother, we cannot call God our Father. We are not to leave her, but we are to work for her healing, as we would with a dysfunctional parent. Our work is not "para-church" but "pro-church." The church needs our discontent, and we need the rest of the body of Christ.

So for those of us who have nearly given up on the church, may we take comfort in the words of St. Augustine: "The Church is a whore, but she's my mother." She

There are far too many Christians who believe that theological conformity is a prerequisite for community.

My brokenness is a better bridge for people than my pretend wholeness ever was.

You're chosen by the One who will never unchoose you. You're loved when the crowd cheers and when the lights go out and they all go home.

Christ knows all that is true about our story, the parts we own and the parts we would delete, and He invites us to bring them all into the spotlight of His grace.

the greatest barrier to intimacy is fear -- fear of being known, fear of being rejected, fear of facing the truth about ourselves... ...We are afraid to be known because at some deep level we fear that the truth about us, when out in the open and reflected back to us through someone else's eyes, will be shocking to ourselves.

We all need a place where we can give voice to the worst that torments our souls and still be held.

I really believe things happen as they're supposed to and in the time that they're supposed to.

I truly understand that there is a lesson in everything that happens to us. So I tried not to spend my time asking "Why did this happen to me?" but trying to figure out why I had chosen this.

Time brought resignation and a melancholy sweeter than common joy.

Time will cure you, but now is your grief still young.