When God...

When God is going to do something wonderful, He or She always starts with a hardship; when God is going to do something amazing, He or She starts with an impossibility.

plugging in

...I think it must be true--that when you pray, you are not starting the conversation from scratch, just remembering to plug back into a conversation that's always in progress.

--Anne Lamott, Plan B,  p 20

Motleyest People

You've got to love this in a God--consistently assembling the motleyest people to bring, in the lonely and frightening world, a commitment to caring and community.  It's a centuries-long reality show--Moses the stutterer, Rahab the hooker, David the adulterer, Mary the homeless teenager.  Not to mention all the mealy-mouthed disciples.  Not to mention a raging insecure narcissist like me.

--Anne Lamott, Plan B,  p 22

Desperation

In my experience, there is a lot to be said for desperation--not exactly a bright side, but something expressed in words for which "God could be stonkered an acronym: gifts of desperation.  The main gift is a willingness to give up the conviction that you are right, and that God this so, too, and hates the people who are driving you crazy.

--Anne Lamott, Plan B,  p 20