“What am I lying here for?...We are lying here as though we had a chance of enjoying a quiet time...Am I waiting until I become a little older?”

“The last time I saw Kate she was crossing a street, the day before I left town. I turned my head and pretended not to notice her doing the same thing. These are the daily lies that she and I have lived. And the biggest lie of all is that I am here. What kind of a friend am I?”

“I am not here to serve myself. I am not here to be lauded, petted, admired or ‘affirmed.’ I am here to build men, cultures and kingdoms. When I find myself in the midst of difficulties and pain, will I persevere, or will I become a coward and pity myself? We do not have time for self-pity! We have much to do, and the hour is late! We need a broader vision of home than just ourselves as wives and mothers, sisters and daughters. We need to understand that we are to work to build Christ’s kingdom—for eternity!”

“I am learning peacefulness, lying by myself quietly, as the light lies on these white walls, this bed, these hands. I am nobody; I have nothing to do with explosions.”

“Life is a chance, a story is a chance. That I am here is a chance.”

“Waking up begins with saying am and now. That which has awoken then lies for a while staring up at the ceiling and down into itself until it has recognized I, and therefrom deduced I am, I am now. Here comes next, and is at least negatively reassuring; because here, this morning, is where it has expected to find itself: what’s called at home.”