“And here she was. Lying on the floor of a dusty, empty, locked room thinking how grateful she felt.She smiled, though it hurt tremendously to do so, thinking how blessed she had been to have spent twelve years with the most precious gifts from God. She felt honored that they called her mother. She knew she had done the best she could teaching them about life and love, faith and family. Margo lay slowly dying from the wounds inflicted by a monster, but she was at peace. Because though the devil meant it for evil, God turned it to good.”
Explore This Quote Further
Quote Analysis
In this poignant quote from Karen Luellen's work, the protagonist Margo reflects on her life and the joy she finds in being a mother. Despite facing a tragic and painful end at the hands of a monster, Margo remains grateful for the time she spent with her children and the lessons she imparted to them. The quote highlights the theme of finding peace and gratitude in the face of adversity and showcases the resilience and strength of a mother's love. Margo's belief that God can turn even the most evil intentions into something good speaks to the power of faith and hope in difficult times.
Modern Relevance
In today's fast-paced and often tumultuous world, the message of finding peace and gratitude in the face of adversity and tragedy is more relevant than ever. This poignant excerpt from Karen Luellen's writing captures the essence of resilience and strength in the face of unimaginable pain and loss. It serves as a powerful reminder that even in our darkest moments, there can be light and hope.
Example of Usage
In this powerful quote by Karen Luellen, we see the resilience and gratitude of a mother facing her final moments. Despite the pain and suffering inflicted upon her, Margo finds peace in knowing that she had the privilege of being a mother and imparting important life lessons to her children. The juxtaposition of darkness and light in this passage serves as a reminder of the strength and grace that can be found even in the most challenging circumstances.
Reflection Questions:
In this powerful quote from Karen Luellen, we see a mother reflecting on her life and the love she shared with her children despite facing unimaginable evil. Take a moment to reflect on the following questions:
- How does Margo's perspective on her life and her children challenge your own views on gratitude and perspective?
- In what ways can you apply Margo's sense of peace and trust in God's plan to your own struggles and challenges?
- Reflect on a time when you faced adversity or evil, but were able to find good or growth in the experience. How did this shape your perspective moving forward?
- How can Margo's story serve as a reminder to cherish and appreciate the blessings and relationships in your own life?
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“She could not see how the love she gave and took had made her what she was.”
“Life was rich and full. She couldn't have asked for more.Well... actually... she amended with a little inner flinch, she could have.Though most of the time she looked at Adam and just felt awed and humbled that this big, wonderful man had given up so much to love her, sometimes she hated that he didn't have a soul, and sometimes she wanted to hate God.And she had a dream, a silly dream perhaps, but a dream to which she clung.They would live to be a hundred, until long after their children and grandchildren were grown, and one day they would go to bed and lie down facing each other, and die like that, at the same moment, in each other's arms.And this was her dream: that maybe, just maybe, if she loved him hard enough and true enough and deep enough, and if she held on to him tightly enough as they died, she could take him with her wherever it was that souls went.And there she would do what was in her blood, what she now knew she'd been born for; she would stand before God, a brehon, and she would argue the greatest, the most important case of her life.And she would win.”
“She smiled. She knew she was dying. But it did not matter any longer. She had known something which no human words could ever tell and she knew it now. She had been awaiting it and she felt it, as if it had been, as if she had lived it. Life had been, if only because she had known it could be, and she felt it now as a hymn without sound, deep under the little whole that dripped red drops into the snow, deeper than that from which the red drops came. A moment or an eternity- did it matter? Life, undefeated, existed and could exist. She smiled, her last smile, to so much that had been possible.”
“What a failure her life had been. Would she have lied to God if she’d had more faith, been more righteous? How could she possibly have a son at her age? And yet, if she had believed all along . . .”
“And all at once I knew how Margo Roth Spiegelman felt when she wasn't being Margo Roth Spiegelman: she felt empty. She felt the unscaleable wall surrounding her. I thought of her asleep on the carpet with only that jagged sliver of sky above her. Maybe Margo felt comfortable there because Margo the person lived like that all the time: in an abandoned room with blocked-out windows, the only light pouring in through holes in the roof. Yes. The fundamental mistake I had always made—and that she had, in fairness, always led me to make—was this: Margo was not a miracle. She was not an adventure. She was not a fine and precious thing. She was a girl.”
“No, she’d spent the last five years begging the Lord to help her find contentment in her spinster status. And he’d been faithful. She had her library, her Ladies Aid work, the children’s reading hour. She could come and go as she pleased, spend her money as she deemed fit, all without the hassle of first gaining a man’s permission. And if the loneliness sometimes ate away at her like water poured on a sugarloaf . . . ? Well, God had seen her through the last five years. She figured he could be depended upon to see her through the next fifty.”