Self Portrait

Frederick Buechner said this and I hope to live it—Being a good steward of your pain. . . . It involves being alive to your life. It involves taking the risk of being open, of reaching out, of keeping in touch with the pain as well as the joy of what happens because at no time more than at a painful time do we live out of the depths of who we are instead of out of the shallows.”

“Out of the depths I have cried to You, O LORD…I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and I wait for His word. My soul waits in hope for the Lord more than the watchmen for the morning….” —Psalm 130:1, 4, 6

“The adventure of life is to learn. The purpose of life is to grow. The nature of life is to change. The challenge of life is to overcome. The essence of life is to care. The opportunity of life is to serve. The secret of life is to dare. The spice of life is to befriend. The beauty of life is to give.” —William Arthur Ward