“I put up with this church, in the hope that one day it will become better, just as it is constrained to put up with me in the hope that I will become better.”

“I used to hope that if I went to church long enough, all my inside weight would go away. That ain't right. Jesus may have come to take away our sins, but he left our feelings right where they've always been. I still have inside me some of what I've always had, built up over a lifetime. I just keep adding to it, everyday, like everybody else, and hope the stew gets better the more ingredients I put in.”

“doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.”

“Another long run, hoping to put distance between me and everything else. The farther, the better. Only problem is, the distance is just temporary, because no matter how far I go, I always have to come back.”

“Every day, and in every way, I am becoming better and better.”

“I folded up that last bit of hope and put it away on the top shelf of my life.”