More Than We Can Tell

The revolution is not an apple that falls when it is ripe. You have to make it fall.’

We have to ask questions to hear the silent people.

We all push sometimes, just to make sure someone is on the other side, pushing back.

We’ve grown so far apart that I’m not sure a map exists to bring us back together.

everything may happen for a reason, but there are reasons behind reasons, and events we can’t control, causing ripples we may never see.

“The point is to stay close.” He pauses. “Distance gives someone room to hurt you.”

test implies that you alone are being challenged,” Dad says. “But that’s impossible when you’re surrounded by others whose actions affect your decisions. And do you really believe that there’s a God who specifically chooses people and assigns them with challenges? Based on what?”

I’m not sure how to respond to that.

He leans back in his chair. “Sometimes events are set in motion from so far away that it’s almost impossible to draw connections until well after the fact—and then, where was the test? At the beginning? In the middle? All along? Then we’re back to thinking all of life is a test. And maybe it is. But if someone is raised with a different belief system, can they be judged by ours? How is that a fair test? We can only do the best we can with what we’re given.”

“We all have free will, Rev. If it’s a test for you, it’s a test for me, for Mom, and even a test for your father. He’s choosing to send you these messages. You could look at all of life as a test. No one lives in a vacuum. Our actions have an impact on everyone around us. Sometimes without us even realizing it.”

“Sometimes, I think people are so used to negativity that a positive atmosphere is uncomfortable, or even frightening. It goes along with what we were talking about. When you can’t trust anyone, the unknown is a very frightening place indeed.”

“There’s this verse I like,” he says. “ ‘The one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.’ ”

My eyes narrow. “Are you quoting the Bible?”

“Yes.” He says this like it’s the most normal thing in the world. “You know what I like about it? I like how it makes doubt seem inevitable. It’s okay to be unsure.”