When you love, it will hurt. You have to choose to forgive, again and again. But it’s worth it. That’s the crux of human relationships, Dobbs. The sweetest thing. Loving deeply. And forgiving.

Have you noticed that it is usually easier to judge than obey? Religious people are especially good at it. I tried.

Thinking too much just brings it back to me, me, me – but thanking takes my eyes off myself and my mistakes and puts them on others, on things bigger than myself. I can’t stand here very long without being humbled at how small I am and amazed at how big and beautiful our world is.

Pain and blessings, deep wounds and healed scars, and, thank heaven, a God who could make sense of it all.

Our part is to get to know God, as a Father and a friend. But to understand Him? His ways are far past our understanding. Infinitely far.

It’s okay to ask questions, sweetheart. You’re going through some rough waters. God is bigger than your questions. Don’t you worry about that.

God doesn’t want us to rescue our children. He’s the Rescuer.

He forced his mind clear of other thoughts and waited. Stillness, he had learned, did not come naturally. He practiced it. Sometimes, as he waited, he heard the Lord’s voice coursing through his spirit almost audibly. Other times he heard nothing, but he felt filled up and satisfied and understood.

The absolute gut-level truth was that he had no desire for God to interrupt him in this way.

Faith and mental stability aren't mutually exclusive.