Rose

“There have been some hard things in my life, of course, as there have been in yours, and I cannot say to you, I know exactly what you’re going through. But I can say that I know the One who knows. And I’ve come to see that it’s through the deepest suffering that God has taught me the deepest lessons. And if we’ll trust Him for it, we can come through to the unshakable assurance that He’s in charge. He has a loving purpose. And He can transform something terrible into something wonderful. Suffering is never for nothing.”
― Elisabeth Elliot, Suffering Is Never for Nothing

“Is it so small a thing
To have enjoy’d the sun,
To have lived light in the spring,
To have loved, to have thought, to have done;
To have advanc’d true friends, and beat down baffling foes;

That we must feign a bliss
Of doubtful future date,
And, while we dream on this,
Lose all our present state,
And relegate to worlds yet distant our repose?”
― Matthew Arnold

“I finally realized that embracing God’s hard will with a grateful spirit is the highest expression of faith in him and the most glorious experience a Christian can have.”
― Joni Eareckson Tada, The Practice of the Presence of Jesus: Daily Meditations on the Nearness of Our Savior

“We start learning the minute we're born, Laura. And if we're wise, we don't stop until the Lord calls us home.”
― Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House on the Prairie