9 Quotes by Neil Abramson

Why only at our great peril do we numbly walk past an outstretched hand: anyone we meet might be one of these beings upon whom and unimaginable burden rests. A burden you can ease by creating a sanctuary simply by accepting that outstretched hand in kindness and with an open heart...simply by being present.

Shadows thrown by a single candle flame often can be more frightening than total darkness.

Because…” Gabriel closed his eyes to his truth. Because the premise that a child must be threatened with harm to earn God’s blessing is no longer acceptable to me; because that smug face cannot be the face of my God; because a rejecting and shaming God is a God of men created by men to serve the agendas of men; because I couldn’t find any stained glass window maker who is able to capture the face of the God I want to see—the God of hope, of compassion, of acceptance.

Sometimes events that lead us bereft of anything but grief just happen for no reason other than happenstance--a car turns left instead of right, a train is missed, a call comes too late--and the real test of our humanness is whether, in light of that knowledge, we are ever able to recover. When we again find our way despite the inability to manufacture a deeper meaning in our suffering, that I think is when God smiles upon us, proud of the strength of his creation.

I was raised to believe that God speaks in the language of sacrifice," he told me, "You are expected to sacrifice because it is the measure of the depth of your belief...

I've seen too much sacrifice to believe that God is behind all of it, and I've seen sacrifice that has no indicia of the hand of God at all. Loss is not always part of some greater plan explainable by reference to the actions of a divine being with a divine purpose.

Pain explains a great deal of human conduct, but the fear of pain even more.

Last week you asked me about grief, about how long it takes to recover. I should’ve told you then, but I just couldn’t. You’re asking the wrong question. It’s not the recovery you should be worrying about. It’s the decisions that are born out of your grief that will haunt you. Some decisions, once you make them, you can’t make any better-... You just live their consequences again and again. That’s why grief is so damn powerful – it has one fierce ally and that ally is regret.

Why only at our great peril do we numbly walk past an outstretched hand: anyone we meet might be one of these beings upon whom and unimaginable burden rests. A burden you can ease by creating a sanctuary simply by accepting that outstretched hand in kindness and with an open heart... simply by being present.