Do you collect quotes? I’ve been collecting them for years and adding them to my journals, which have become treasure chests of inspiration. As Sarah Clarkson says, “words build worlds,” so I welcome the opportunity to share my favorites with you here every month and invite you to do the same in the comments, building a word community of our own. Sometimes the quotes will be themed; other times, it will be a mixed bag. Some months I will offer several quotes, and some months it will just be a few.
This month, I have a few quotes around the theme of love. Here we go…
From Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry
"But grief is not a force and has no power to hold. You only bear it. Love is what carries you, for it is always there, even in the dark, or most in the dark, but shining out at times like gold stitches in a piece of embroidery.”
“Love in this world doesn’t come out of thin air. It is not something thought up. Like ourselves, it grows out of the ground. It has a body and a place.”
From the NIV Bible
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13: 34-35)
And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13: 13)
What words have been feeding your soul lately? I would love to know.
Blessings,
Stephanie
P.S.-Our pastor had to say goodbye to his dad this week. Though I know it has been a very grievous time for our pastor and his family, he offered two things on Facebook that I think are wonderful pictures of love. The first was a photo of his mom and dad, who had been married for 53 years, sharing a kiss in the hospital the day before his dad passed. The other is the way he and his family were able to read Scripture together and sing as his dad was caught in the arms of Love, Jesus his savior. I can just imagine what a witness of love our pastor and his family were to his dad and to the hospital staff. May we all strive to know Jesus and lead lives of love.
I have the same Hannah Coulter quote in my quote journal.
Stephanie, we are like-minded notebook keepers... I'm drafting a page on my Substack called gathered words, for just this reason. I've been collecting quotes forever...
And the Hannah Coulter quote is perfect... Thank you.