The Stranger in the Lifeboat

When someone passes, Benjamin, people always ask, ‘Why did God take them?’ A better question would be ‘Why did God give them to us?’ What did we do to deserve their love, their joy, the sweet moments we shared? Didn’t you have such moments with Annabelle?” “Every day,” I rasped. “Those moments are a gift. But their end is not a punishment. I am never cruel, Benjamin. I know you before you are born. I know you after you die. My plans for you are not defined by this world. “Beginnings and endings are earthly ideas. I go on. And because I go on, you go on with me. Feeling loss is part of why you are on Earth. Through it, you appreciate the brief gift of human existence, and you learn to cherish the world I created for you. But the human form is not permanent. It was never meant to be. That gift belongs to the soul. “I know the tears you shed, Benjamin. When people leave this Earth, their loved ones always weep.” She smiled. “But I promise you, those who leave do not.

He [the Lord] squinted against the sun. 'Worry is something you create.' 'Why would we create worry?' [Nina] 'To fill a void.' 'A void of what?' 'Faith.

Maybe laughter after someone dies is the way we tell ourselves that they are still alive in some way. Or that we are.

Beginnings and endings are earthly ideas. I go on. And because I go on, you go on with me. Feeling loss is part of why you are on Earth. Through it, you appreciate the brief gift of human existence, and you learn to cherish the world I created for you. But the human form is not permanent. It was never meant to be. That gift belongs to the soul. “I know the tears you shed, Benjamin. When people leave this Earth, their loved ones always weep.” She smiled. “But I promise you, those who leave do not.

This world can be a trying place, Inspector. Sometimes you have to shed who you were to live who you are.

Despair has its own voice. It is a prayer unlike any other.

Rum Rosh. It's in Psalms, the original Hebrew. It means 'God lifted my head

It has always been a mystery to me ... how beauty and anguish can share the same moment

...the stories we tell ourselves long enough become our truths.

Feeling loss is part of why you are on Earth. Through it, you appreciate the brief gift of human existence, and you learn to cherish the world I created for you.

The distance between death and life is not as great as you imagine.

Why was he so quiet?" "To see if you would listen

Still, I never considered what I would do if I called for the Lord and He actually appeared before me.

The possibilities of another person. Is there any anticipation on this earth quite like that one? Is there anything lonelier than being without it?

In the end, there is the sea and the land and the news that happens between them. To spread that news, we tell each other stories. Sometimes the stories are about survival. And sometimes those stories, like the presence of the Lord, are hard to believe. Unless believing is what makes them true.

Worry is something you create ... to fill a void [of] faith

God -starts- things,' he [the Lord] said. 'Man stops them.

I don't need company,' I [Benjamin Kierney] said. 'I'm just thinking about things.' 'Your fate,' the Lord said. 'Something like that.' 'Perhaps I can help.' I actually laughed. 'Why? If I were God, I would have given up on me long ago.' 'But you are not,' he said, 'and I never will.

Did you know a crab will escape its shell thirty times before it dies? ... This world can be a trying place ... Sometimes you have to shed who you were to live who you are

Survive this voyage. And once you do, find another soul in despair.

Forgive yourself ... Then use this grace to spread my spirit

When someone passes ... people always ask, 'Why would God take them?' A better question would be 'Why did God give them to us?' What did we do to deserve their love, their joy, the sweet moments we shared? ... Those moments are a gift. But their end is not a punishment ... My plans for you are not defined by this world ... Beginnings and endings are earthly ideas. I go on. And because I go on, you go on with me. Feeling loss is part of why you are on Earth. Through it, you appreciate the brief gift of human existence, and you learn to cherish the world I created for you. But the human form is not permanent. It was never meant to be. That gift belongs to the soul.

The explosion had come during a dinner party, and the sight of most of us in dress clothes, now soaked and ripped as we huddled inside a raft, was a grim reminder of how little the natural world cares for our plans.

Worry is something you create." "Why would we create worry?" "To fill a void." "A void of what?" "Faith.

Worry is something you create.

...sometimes those stories, like the presence of the Lord, are hard to believe. Unless believing is what makes them true.

The power of misery is its long shadow. It darkens everything within view.

What did you expect the Lord to look like? Don’t we always say, ‘If only we could see God, we would know he was real’? What if He has finally given us a chance to see Him? Is it still not enough?