I was not alone in the human condition.

my multifold years of life, I have learned that most people get along as best they can. They don't intend to hurt anyone. It is merely a terrible by-product of surviving.

Forgive me, Father. Forgive my weakness. Forgive my wondering. Bring me to those beautiful shores of home and let me content my feet in the soft sands of all that you have prepared for me. Let me be thankful for all that you have given, neither hungering nor thirsting for what is not my cup. Your

Ever'body got story. Ever'body got a reason for what they do. You eat off somebody else's plate, drink a their cup, could be, you'd be the same way.

Forgiveness given is forgiveness gained.

One thing that discovering my own history had taught me is that we must learn not to whip ourselves for the failures of others. When a mother cannot love and protect her children, it is not the children who are defective.

I've finally come to fully understand that you can't fix another person. You can't fix the past. You can only change your way of reacting to it. You have to wait for other people to fix themselves.

the past travels with you. It's whether you run from it or learn from it that makes all the difference.

Blessings aren't fully realized until they are passed along.

Tightening my fingers, I held on. "Honey, the farther you go in life, the more you realize that most people aren't trying to hurt anybody. They're just trying to . . . get by. People don't always make the right decisions—even the people we love. I know Jake loves us. He's just trying to . . . find his way right now.

It's funny how when you think you've got problems, you usually don't have to look far to find someone who's in a lot worse shape.

I'm indebted to all of you who read these stories and also to the booksellers who sell them with such devotion. As Mr. Rogers once said, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.