You've gotten so caught up in being alone that you're afraid of what might happen if you actually find someone else that can take you away from it.

I want her to be smart and kind... and I want you to fall in love with her, because you shouldn't spend the rest of your life alone.

“A living poem” had always been the words that came to mind when he tried to describe her to others.

Always stick to the story. It was when you started backtracking that people got in trouble. Interrogation 101.

Some things were beyond understanding.

More than anything, he wanted to return to the house with the same look of peace that he'd seen on Pastor Harris's face, but he trudged through the sand, he couldn't help feeling like an amateur, someone searching for God's truths like a child searching for seashells.

What was it, he wondered for the hundredth time, that enabled Pastor Harris to hear the answers in his heart? What did he mean when he said he felt God’s presence? Steve supposed he could ask Pastor Harris directly, but he doubted that would do any good. How could anyone explain such a thing? It would be like describing colors to someone blind from birth: The words might be understood, but the concept would remain mysterious and private.