“Discovering more joy does not, save us from the inevitability of hardship and heartbreak.”

We are made for loving. If we don’t love, we will be like plants without water.

We are made for goodness. We are made for love. We are made for friendliness. We are made for togetherness. We are made for all of the beautiful things that you and I know.

A person is a person through other persons.

In the end what matters is not how good we are but how good God is. Not how much we love Him but how much He loves us. And God loves us whoever we are, whatever we’ve done or failed to do, whatever we believe or can’t.

We do not heal in isolation. When we reach out and connect with one another—when we tell the story, name the hurt, grant forgiveness, and renew or release the relationship—our suffering begins to transform.

Though wrong gratifies in the moment, good yields its gifts over a lifetime.

Like when you sit in front of a fire in winter – you are just there in front of the fire. You don’t have to be smart or anything. The fire warms you.

Differences are not intended to separate, to alienate. We are different precisely in order to realize our need for one another.

You show your humanity by how you see yourself not as apart from others but from your connection to others.

Language is very powerful. Language does not just describe reality. Language creates the reality it describes.

Out of the cacophony of random suffering and chaos that can mark human life, the life artist sees or creates a symphony of meaning and order.

When we see others as separate, they become a threat. When we see others as part of us, as connected, as interdependent, then there is no challenge we cannot face—together.

When we see others as the enemy, we risk becoming what we hate. When we oppress others, we end up oppressing ourselves. All of our humanity is dependent upon recognizing the humanity in others.

There is nothing more difficult than waking someone who is only pretending to be asleep.

It is through weakness and vulnerability that most of us learn empathy and compassion and discover our soul.

Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realize fishing is stupid and boring.