Rachel Fordham > Quotes

“I'm not sure we ever learn to live without those we love. I think Margaret may be right. The secret is to learn to live with them as nearby as we can keep them. My parents are dead and my sister is in Beckford. I miss them every day. Only now am I learning the right way to remember them.”
― Rachel Fordham, The Hope of Azure Springs

“Dear girl, face whatever it is. You’ve been brave already. You’ve come here on your own. Only a brave soul would do that. Be brave again. Be brave until the end. You can’t go back and undo this. It’s one of the harsh realities of this life. If I could I’d go back and unsay every harsh word I’ve ever uttered. But I can’t—and you can’t change the past either. Look ahead.”
― Rachel Fordham, Yours Truly, Thomas

“Yes, Em, your freckles are perfect. Looks are a funny thing, very peculiar. Never waste any time disliking the ones you have. The right person will think they are the very definition of beautiful.”
― Rachel Fordham, The Hope of Azure Springs

“Fighting a battle with the earth seems like a plenty noble calling to me. Putting food on your table and on the plates of others - it's a quieter way. But it's a good way.”
― Rachel Fordham, The Hope of Azure Springs

“Does she bring you happiness, make you laugh?" Gideon had asked. When Caleb confessed that she did, his father then asked, "Do you like who you are when you are with her?" Again Caleb answered in the affirmative. He confessed she was not what he had planned, that at first she was just a case to solve.
Then his father said something Caleb couldn't get out of his head. "Our whole lives people try to tell us what beautiful is. As young boys we think we know exactly which women are the loveliest. Then we meet one who doesn't fit the mold and we know we were taught wrong our whole lives." While his pa talked, Caleb envisioned Em's freckled face. "Beauty is something we get to define. We may not see it right away, but when we do, we have trouble remembering the other definition. We wonder how we were ever to misled. All we can see is the one person who defines it for us."
Then his father put a hand on his shoulder and said, "Don't let anyone else decide which kind of beautiful is right for you. You find a girl who brings out the best in you. Who you can see a happy future with. That's your kind of beautiful.”
― Rachel Fordham, The Hope of Azure Springs

“Just because something is hard doesn't mean we should give up. Sometimes the hardest things are the very best things.~Aggie”
― Rachel Fordham, A Life Once Dreamed

“You must be the author."
...
"I'm not actually published yet. I'm more of an aspiring author. ... Big dreams and all that."
"We all begin as dreamers.”
― Rachel Fordham, Yours Truly, Thomas

“This was her life. Colorful and simple. Comfortable and predictable. She'd woven herself into the fabric of the town, serving and loving the townsfolk and making a life for herself in Penance. ~Aggie”
― Rachel Fordham, A Life Once Dreamed

“Margaret told me that often we get so caught up in seeing our own prayers answered that we don't realize we are blessing others.”
― Rachel Fordham, The Hope of Azure Springs

“Never waste any time disliking the ones you have. The right person will think they are the very definition of beautiful.”
― Rachel Fordham, The Hope of Azure Springs

“Life is not a cruel joke. There's purpose to it. I believe it. Even the pain has purpose. And there's joy to be had."~Hannah (Aggie's best friend)”
― Rachel Fordham, A Life Once Dreamed

“Whatever you do, don't stop living now just because a few women got to talking about something they know nothing about. You keep your head up and keep living and soon enough they'll stop talking. In fact, I think you'll find a friendly face among them before long." Margaret's voice sounded so confident, like it really could be possible.

Em looked down the street at the other pedestrians. "I thought I was past caring what others thought. But their words hurt."

"When we really live, we risk the pain. But you'll work through it.”
― Rachel Fordham

“There's nothing so fine as a man who knows to turn down a different road.”
― Rachel Fordham, Yours Truly, Thomas

“I'm a better person in Azure Springs than I was in Alexandria. And pain brought me here. I'm still making peace with it all, but I'm grateful I got here even if the road was rocky and marred with pain.”
― Rachel Fordham, Yours Truly, Thomas

“Looks are a funny thing, very peculiar. Never waste any time disliking the ones you have. The right person will think they are the very definition of beautiful.”
― Rachel Fordham, The Hope of Azure Springs

“You don't want to miss the love that's perfect for you because you're too busy searching for a fairy tale.”
― Rachel Fordham, Yours Truly, Thomas

“I'd rather never marry than marry for any reason but love. Don't you want something more? Someone you can't imagine living without?”
― Rachel Fordham, Yours Truly, Thomas

“he knew who she was inside better than who she was on the outside, thanks to her letters.”
― Rachel Fordham, Beyond Ivy Walls

“The secret is that you have to find a way to enjoy life on the ordinary days. You have to enjoy the little things, like yellow houses with bright red doors. You have to enjoy the sound of the door opening when your man gets home. The laughing of little ones. Those things are more fun than gossip, but it takes a trained mind to soak them in.”
― Rachel Fordham, The Hope of Azure Springs

“Somehow, I hope to convince a man who wishes to live in a cave to come out into the sunshine so he might discover whatever is around the corner. . . .”
― Rachel Fordham, Beyond Ivy Walls

“This was where she belonged. Love and home did not have to look the way she’d always imagined. They were born in joy and in sorrow.”
― Rachel Fordham, Yours Truly, Thomas

“buoyed her belief that Otis Taylor was not a beast but a man with heart.”
― Rachel Fordham, Beyond Ivy Walls

“Whatever you do, don’t stop living now just because a few women got to talking about something they know nothing about. You keep your head up and keep living and soon enough they’ll stop talking. In fact, I think you’ll find a friendly face among them before long.”
― Rachel Fordham, The Hope of Azure Springs

“I’ve never known exactly where I fit either. It’s a wonderful way to be. Only one who matters is the Lord, and he has a way of getting you where you need to go if you’re willing to listen.” If”
― Rachel Fordham, Yours Truly, Thomas

“she was simply a name. Another piece of his family’s past that he would never understand.”
― Rachel Fordham, Beyond Ivy Walls

“God has given us this second chance. Nothing will keep me from taking it"~ James”
― Rachel Fordham, A Life Once Dreamed

“There is no shame in kindness. There is no shame in thoughtfulness. Remember that. Anyone can be angry and forceful. Takes a humble man to rise above that.”
― Rachel Fordham, Yours Truly, Thomas

“Keep enduring. Sometimes the steepest roads lead to the grandest views.”
― Rachel Fordham, The Hope of Azure Springs

“At first she’d been hurt, but with time she’d come to see his departure as an act of good faith.”
― Rachel Fordham, Beyond Ivy Walls

“I am quite certain you are exactly the miracle we need.”
― Rachel Fordham, Beyond Ivy Walls