I LOVE to read! That might be a slight understatement. I LOVE to read ALOT! So many different types of books. But I don't have a great memory. I can't remember details about a book after I've read it. That's why I was surprised that these particular quotes have stayed with me. I think of them often on a daily basis. These were powerful books. I learned so, so much from the characters in them. I like to think of them as friends.Since these quotes are so much a part of me, I wanted to leave them written down for my children to go back and read one day when I'm not here and they would like to know 'what made mom tick'. Many different things inspire me...but these quotes are special and close to my heart.
1. "Uncle Tom's Cabin" - "I'm in the Lord's hands," said Tom, "nothin' can go no furder than He lets it;" The entire book is amazing, but this tiny quote sums up the premise by which Tom lived and inspired so many around him.
2. "The Count of Monte Cristo" - "Only a man who has felt ultimate despair is capable of feeling ultimate bliss. It is necessary to have wished for death...in order to know how good it is to live."
This book drew me like a moth to a flame. There are so many lessons in it, but this one grabbed my attention. So often we want a way out of the 'hard time' in our life. But it is in those hard times when our faith is renewed, grown, awakened and without it, we would never really know how beautiful life is and what a gift it is.
3. "Les Miserables" - Javer: "It is a pity the law doesn't allow me to be merciful." The Bishop: "Jean Valjean, my brother you no longer belong to evil. With this silver I have bought your soul. I have ransomed you from fear and hatred, and now I give you back to God." These two quotes aren't exactly in the book, they're actually from the movie. But...the idea is written out in several paragraphs in the book and the movie screenwriters captured the emotion and intensity of what was written in the book, beautifully with these two quotes. The idea of grace and mercy is so foreign to so many. There are people all around us everyday who need touches of grace in their lives, yet also don't want it because they can't reconcile the gift that it is with who they feel they are what they deserve. Love always wins out!
