Shannon

“Abusers and abusive organizations may concede the basic reality of the wrong—“Yes, this happened”—but quickly add statements that either soften their responsibility or promote their integrity: “We value all people and only want what is best for everyone involved.” If these concessions do their job, the accused will stay in power, stay in favor with the community, and stay far from the shame their actions deserve.”
― Wade Mullen, Something's Not Right: Decoding the Hidden Tactics of Abuse—and Freeing Yourself from Its Power

“Missionary kids are called. But they are called to God Himself. After that, it’s anyone’s guess. After that it could be to a small town in England, a large city in North America, a tenured professorship at a university, a foreign service position with the state department. Rarely does our call look the same as that of our parents. Our journey often begins through the faith and calling of our parents, rooted in the past but grown and sustained through our own decisions of faith.”
― Marilyn R. Gardner, Between Worlds: Essays on Culture and Belonging

“I didn’t choose Christ. Nobody chooses Christ. Christ chooses you or you’re dead. After Christ chooses you, you respond because you must. Period. It’s not a pretty story.”
― Rosaria Champagne Butterfield, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert

“Spiritual truths that we believed when we weren’t grieving are still true. They just don’t feel true. God doesn’t waste pain. Never. Part of me doesn’t want to say this because it has become clichéd. But it’s also truth. He doesn’t waste pain. He doesn’t waste grief. Period. Full stop. He meets us under whirring fans or beside oceans, in cold bedrooms or curled up on couches. He is as present at six as he will be at sixty. He speaks to us in our grief and in our pain. And he never, ever gives up on us, even when we give up on ourselves.”
― Marilyn R. Gardner, Between Worlds: Essays on Culture and Belonging