My quote-collecting hobby started with a gift over thirty years ago–a charming floral journal.
Now there are three volumes. Two binders include typed notes and quotes from many books I’ve read.*
The newest journal for quotations is an elegant shade of lavender, which, it turns out, is the perfect color for a such a collection, based on a Rudyard Kipling quote I came across recently:
He wrapped himself in quotations—
as a beggar would enfold himself in
the Purple of Emperors.
Rudyard Kipling
It’s true, many quotes do provide rich enhancement for our lives, succinctly bestowing wisdom, challenge, encouragement, or humor. Great impact can occur in a matter of moments.
For this post I’ve culled just such quotations, with the potential of changing our perspective on troublesome circumstances—quotes that might inspire us to even celebrate them.
For example:
Hurray for Difficulty!
Because: “Great things never come from comfort zones”—Ben Francia.
And . . . “The secret is Christ in me; not me in a different set of circumstances”—Elisabeth Elliot.
Hurray for Discouragement!
Because: “If you knock with a heavy heart, you shall yet sing with joy of spirit. Never be discouraged”—Charles Spurgeon.
And . . . “Do not get discouraged—it may be the last key on the ring that opens the door”—Stanisfer.
Hurray for Failure!
Because: “Failure is the fertilizer that feeds success. It stinks and is unpleasant to handle but without it, success is unattainable”—Unknown.
And . . . “When something goes wrong in your life, just yell, “Plot twist!” and move on—Author Molly Weis.
Hurray for Hiddenness!
Because: “When we know we are seen by the one who created praise itself and he is the one who gives us a word of affirmation—when he is the one who notices us pouring ourselves out in secret—we realize that this is what we craved all along . . . Being elbow deep in soapsuds and breakfast sausage grease looks and feels different when we know God sees us there”—Sara Hagerty (Unseen;51).
And . . . “How can I feel depressed by the smallness of my life when the most important Man in the universe died for me? . . . When the most important Man in the universe has always been thinking of me?”—Anne Graham Lotz (The Vision of His Glory; 13, 14).
Hurray for Inadequacy!
Because: “God is attracted to weakness. He can’t resist those who humbly and honestly admit how desperately they need him”—Jim Cymbala (quoted by Beth Moore in Praying God’s Word; 260).
And . . . “Never mind your weakness; it is the very thing that qualifies you. Never mind your feelings of inadequacy; it is God’s work, not yours. Simply make yourself available, and let go of any need to impress others, or prove yourself worthy, or achieve ‘success.’ What matters is that God has chosen you, and that God claims you as his own”—Br. David Vryhof.
Hurray for Waiting!
Because: “If God makes you wait longer than you could wish, it is only to make the blessing doubly precious”—Andrew Murray.
And . . . “What we are waiting for is not as important as what happens to us while we are waiting. Trust the process”—Mandy Hale (quoted by Jean Wise in Christmas Crossroads; 53).
Do you see a theme here?
“The eternal substance of a thing never lies in the thing itself [like difficulty, discouragement, or failure]. It’s in the quality of our reaction to it.
“If in hard times we are kept from resentment held in silence, and filled with inner sweetness, that is what matters. The event that distressed us will pass from memory as a wind that passes and is gone. But what we were while the wind was blowing has eternal consequences”—A. Wetherell Johnson.
I pray the wisdom and encouragement shared in these quotes will give uplift to the quality of our reactions.
*A large collection has limited value without an index, so I’ve created those too—prompted by a touch of OCD, no doubt.
Art & photo credits: http://www.pixabay.com; Nancy Ruegg; http://www.dailyverses.net; http://www.pickpic.com; http://www.wallpaperflare.com; http://www.heartlight.org; http://www.dailyverses.net; http://www.heartlight.org; http://www.canva.com.
From the Inside Out 