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Sometimes, the most impenetrable brick walls are made of flesh.

— Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture  <link>

Brick Walls

The brick walls are there for a reason. They’re not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.

— Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture  <link>

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.

— Winston Churchill  <link>

Winter Preserves and Strengthens

Winter preserves and strengthens a tree. Rather than expending its strength on the exterior surface, its sap is forced deeper and deeper into its interior depth. In winter a tougher, more resilient life is firmly established. Winter is necessary for the tree to survive and flourish.

Instantly you see the application. So often we hide our true condition with the surface virtues of pious activity, but once the leaves of our frantic pace drop away, the power of a wintry spirituality can have effect.

To the outward eye everything looks barren and unsightly. Our many defects, flaws, weaknesses, and imperfections stand out in bold relief. But only the outward virtues have collapsed; the principle of virtue is actually being strengthened. The soul is venturing forth into the interior. Real, solid, enduring virtues begin to develop deep within. Pure love is being birthed.

— Richard Foster, Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home  <link>

Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer.

— Romans 12:12  <link>