Quotent Quotables

One night a year or so ago, a friend and I happened to start talking about God. I believe in Him; she isn't so sure. She went on to talk about how she had trouble believing in something that is not logical; there is no scientific fact that God exists. To her, He is like a fairy tale.

I wished I could put into words why I believed. I kind of felt silly talking to her about it because she was perfectly right, believing in God is not logical nor scientific. But in the end, I still believe. There are so many unspoken reasons in my heart why I believe. I have faith that He is there and loves me, even in spite of all the mistakes I have made, and will make, in my life. That will never change.

I've been reading a book called Blue Like Jazz. It is a book of thoughts on Christian spirituality that my sister recommended to me. It's pretty good so far. I came across a passage in this book that reminded me of that conversation that night.

"I don't think there is an explanation. My belief in Jesus did not seem rational or scientific, yet there was nothing I could do to separate myself from this belief. [She] was looking for something rational, because she believed all things were rational. But that is not the case. Love, for example, is a true emotion, but it is not rational. What I mean is, people actually feel it. I have been in love, plenty of people have been in love, yet love cannot be proven scientifically. Neither can beauty. Light cannot be proven scientifically and yet we all believe in light and by light we see all things. There are plenty of things that are true and don't make any sense. I think one of the problems [she] was having was that she wanted God to make sense. He doesn't. He will make no more sense to me than I will to an ant." Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz

I don't usually say too much about my thoughts on God. While I feel very strongly about my faith, I also feel that it a very personal thing and one I shouldn't go blabbering on about. But for some reason, I just felt that I should share that little paragraph with all of you, asking those who wrestle with this question of logic to keep an open mind. I hope that my friend does too.

What a Good Book!

Although I love to read, it's not often that I find a book that I just really really enjoy. And usually I would rather stab my eyes out than read a sappy love story, but this book was different. It was so original and poignant and somewhat of a challenge to read. And it made me sob uncontrollably at the end.

Here's a better review that I could ever give...

"Henry De Tamble, a rather dashing librarian at the famous Newberry Library in Chicago, finds himself unavoidably whisked around in time. He disappears from a scene in, say, 1998 to find himself suddenly, usually without his clothes, which mysteriously disappear in transit, at an entirely different place 10 years earlier-or later. During one of these migrations, he drops in on beautiful teenage Clare Abshire, an heiress in a large house on the nearby Michigan peninsula, and a lifelong passion is born. The problem is that while Henry's age darts back and forth according to his location in time, Clare's moves forward in the normal manner, so the pair are often out of sync. But such is the author's tenderness with the characters, and the determinedly ungimmicky way in which she writes of their predicament [...] that the book is much more love story than fantasy. It also has a splendidly drawn cast, from Henry's violinist father [...] to Clare's odd family and a multitude of Chicago bohemian friends. [...] It is a fair tribute to her skill and sensibility to say that the book leaves a reader with an impression of life's riches and strangeness rather than of easy thrills." from Amazon.com

The wife's thoughts and feelings about her husband echo many of the feelings I have about my own husband. And this book made me realize how precious time is and how lucky I am to get to be with the person I love so much every single day. So if you want a good read and a good cry, this book is definitely for you!