Hvert ord var en kostbar edelsten som du ga til meg. Og jeg følte at jeg hadde så lite å gi i gjengjeld.

Sannhet er en sjelden fugl, og jeg skatter den høyt når jeg finner den, som med deg i dag.

Amy forelsket seg i det håpet og den utholdenheten hun så i menneskene de møtte, i den tidløse verdigheten hun så i bygningene som hadde overlevd krigen, i den tragiske historien som utspant seg foran øynene på henne.

Kunstnerblikket hennes frydet seg over skjønnheten i den ville skogen, det enorme bølgende landskapet, det sta håpet som preget de slitne ansiktene.

Bare det å føle noe igjen, å være begeistret over noe, var som å gjenoppdage et glemt favorittsted.

... alle mennesker trenger litt tid vekk fra foreldrene sine for å finne ut hvem de er.

Noen ganger blir ikke ting som vi har planlagt, men det betyr ikke at det ikke kan komme noe godt ut av det.

Trærne var kledd i høstdrakt - over hodene deres var det en fargesprakende regnbue i rødt og gull.

Så gikk han ut på terassen og trakk inn den skarpe duften av senhøsten som var i ferd med å gi etter for vinteren. Epletrærne sto nakne og strakte de skjelettaktige grenene sine oppover mot himmelen i måneskinnet.

"When one era in our life comes to an end," Grandma said, "and we have to start all over again, it can be a good thing.

It gives us a chance to decide what's really important. Nobody likes change, Lucy. But even if everything else is taken away, God is still with us."

It isn't our calling as Christians to write laws that force people to live moral lives. As much as our communities might need it, and as bad as things are, imposing our morality on others isn't the answer.

It doesn't work. People may be forced to give up alcohol, but they are still going to hell. That's our calling - to bring people to Christ - not to force them to behave the way we want them to or to solve all their external problems.

We argued it until we had each drunk enough coffee to keep us awake for a week.

You have to trust that He is arranging the events in your life in order to lead you to the purpose He has for you (...)

Sometimes those events are tragic and painful. But He uses them to shape us into the people He wants us to become.

"So the real question is," Bebe continued, "are you willing to change for him? That's what you must decide. Don't expect him to change.

You're the one who must change. Do you love him that much? Could you give up your way of life and live in his world for his sake? Or are you expecting him to fit into yours?"

Joy and sorrow are two sides of the same coin. They both come in seasons, just like floods and droughts.

I have to move forward, not backward. And change is a part of life. I learned that growing up on the farm - sowing, growing, harvesting - life always goes on.

But if there's one thing I've learned from that amazing group of women, it's that God puts other people in our life so that we won't have to suffer through it alone.

"Life is like that, Beatrice - always changing, always flowing forward like a stream. Things never stay the same. And we have to move on and change, too."

"What if I don't want things to change?"

"You can't fight against the current. You need to trust God and be prepared for wherever the river of live will take you next."

... watching the spreading ripples, realizing that one raindrop - one person - could make a difference. Multiple raindrops and multiple persons, all interacting and colliding and stirring up the placid surface could create a tidal wave of change.

There is no shame in changing direction, Harriet. In fact, once you've seen the warning signs, it's always wise to turn around.

How could something as tiny as a raindrop create such beauty?