“There didn't seem to be that much to say. If you loved Phoebe now, it was going to hurt you to see her. Like facing cold water, you just jumped in and swam anyway.” Facing The Truth Book:The Monk Downstairs Source: The Monk Downstairs
“The first one to bed always lit the candle, and the last one turned out the lamp....The tradition had seen them through quite a bit by now, and Rebecca had come to love the candlelight, not only because it meant that Mike loved to see her just the way she was, which was incredibly liberating once you began to actually believe it, but also because the light just felt holy to her. It made the end of the day into a kind of prayer, whether they made love or just lay in each other's arms and chewed over the day's portion of craziness; and there was that beautiful little puff of "Amen" when they blew the candle out and settled into sleep.” LoveLiteratureBedCandlelight Book:The Monk Upstairs Source: The Monk Upstairs
“She said, "Well, that's right, she's going to heaven very soon. And now it's time for us to say good-bye to her and tell her how much we love her." Mary martha nodded and looked at the needlepoint in her hands. "Will her brain still be hurt, in heaven?" she asked. [Rebecca]....said, "Do you remember that time at the beach, when you went into the water with Gran-Gran and the waves were too big and she lifted you up over them? And you two were laughing so much and you said she was the coolest grandmother in the world?" Mary Martha smiled. "Yes" "That is how she will be in heaven," Rebecca said.” SpiritualityHeavenDeath Of A Loved OneLiterary Fiction Book:The Monk Upstairs Source: The Monk Upstairs
“We are born to love as we are born to die, and between the heartbeats of these two great mysteries lies all the tangled undergrowth of our tiny lives. There is nowhere to go but through. And so we walk on, lost, and lost again, in the mapless wilderness of love.” HeartTwoLyingDiesLostBornWalksMysteryTinyWildernessHeartbeatTangledNowhere To GoBorn To Die Author:Tim Farrington
“One thing is certain, whatever choices we make: we will not miss out on some critical purgation by seeking treatment for depression or any other form of physical suffering. If we are ripe for what the dark night brings, God will find a way to bring the process to fruition no matter how hard we try to avoid it.” IfsWayTryingMatterHardFormNightCertainSufferingChoicesProcessDarkOne ThingMissingSeekingCriticalGods WillTreatmentRipeDark NightFruition Author:Tim Farrington
“I am a futility. The life of prayer begins with that. And God is not a comfort, to be offered like Kleenex. God is a poisoned sea, with broken syringes washing up on the beach. God is shopping malls stretching to the horizon and warplanes in the sky. God is a flat tire in a rainstorm and beer cans in the ditch, a bottle shattered on a highway and the taste of gunmetal in your mouth.” PrayerSeaSkyBrokenComfortTasteMouthsBeerBeachFlatsHorizonBottlesShoppingTireHighwaysWashingShatteredStretchingFutilityMallsRainstormsFlat TiresKleenex Author:Tim Farrington
