Chad Morris

“Sofia knocked. Anne Edwards, white hair pulled into a messy bun, flour up to her elbows, answered the door. “Oh, no!” she cried. “Not just brilliant but good bones as well. I do hope you have a terrible personality, dear,” Anne Edwards declared. “Otherwise, I shall lose faith in a just God.”
― Mary Doria Russell, The Sparrow

“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. —Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude”
― Barbara Brown Taylor, Learning to Walk in the Dark: A Study of Spiritual Growth Through Darkness

“The story is told of a man named John who had once been faithful to attend his church regularly, but had grown lackadaisical recently. The Pastor knew that he hadn’t seen the gentleman in a while, so he went for a visit. 

John greeted the Pastor and welcomed him in, directing him to the chair beside the fireplace. The pastor didn’t mention anything about his concern about not having seen him in awhile, instead he simply said, “So, what’s up with you these days? How are you doing?” As John started responding, the pastor listened. After John had finished talking. The pastor casually grabbed the fireplace tongs, picked up a hot coal from the fire, and set it away from the fire, out on the hearth. Both men then watched the coal. While the fire roared on, the coal that had been red hot began to lose its heat. It gradually lost its red color, and then cooled off so that it became cool to the touch. The Pastor picked up the coal, and handed it to John for a moment . . . neither man said a word. Then the Pastor reached out and took the coal back from John, and returned it to the roaring fire . . . and in just a few short moments, the coal once again glowed red hot, as the pile of flaming coals caused it to heat up again. The pastor then got to his feet, put his hat on, and shook John’s hand. At that point, John looked at the pastor and said, “You know, I think you might start seeing a bit more of me in church again.”
― Roger Wolsey, Kissing Fish: christianity for people who don’t like christianity

“I’m made of everything that touched my senses during that time and entered the part of my brain where I keep my memories.”
― Sofía Segovia, The Murmur of Bees