It seems a strange thing that a mind so full of work should find rest difficult when the body is weary. I watched him lie there, eyes open to the dark room, while I read until his breathing finally slowed. Perhaps he was waiting for a dream that would match the verses he had written, and in that waiting, sleep refused to come.

Let me go! I screamed, or I will raise the whole house.”

My sister, when they threaten your child to break your spirit, you must find a way to stand firm without losing your heart. Tell them that love is stronger than their cruelty, even if it costs you everything else. Do not let fear silence your voice today.

My dear friend, do you think your virtue is safe because it feels steady? I learned too late that capacity for good means capacity for worse unless you trust only mercy. Lay down every claim of your own safety and look solely to God’s grace this day.

I am not opposed to recreational drug use per se, but like all substances (ha!) the trouble comes when it becomes easier to keep on stay in the haze than to go back to the world.