Gerald L. Sittser

I see now that my faith was becoming an ally rather than an enemy because I could vent anger freely, even toward God, without fearing retribution.

Gifts of grace come to all of us. But we must be ready to see and willing to receive these gifts. It will require a kind of sacrifice, the sacrifice of believing that, however painful our losses, life can still be good _ good in a different way then before, but nevertheless good. I will never recover from my loss and I will never got over missing the ones I lost. But I still cherish life. . . . I will always want the ones I lost back again. I long for them with all my soul. But I still celebrate the life I have found because they are gone. I have lost, but I have also gained. I lost the world I loved, but I gained a deeper awareness of grace. That grace has enabled me to clarify my purpose in life and rediscover the wonder of the present moment.

Although unanswered prayer is indeed a theme of the book, it is not the heart of the book, for unanswered prayer describes a problem but offers no solutions.

I had no way of anticipating the adjustments I would have to make and the suffering I would have to endure in the months and years ahead.

the book is intended to show how it is possible to live in and be enlarged by loss, even as we continue to experience it.

The central theme of the book is that prayer is best understood as a long, sometimes perilous, epic journey that eventually leads to triumph.

prayer is the one discipline in the Christian faith that makes us feel entirely dependent on God and thus sets us up for profound disappointment when God doesn__ respond to our needs and requests.

My prayer as you read this book is that you will find comfort for the disappointment of unanswered prayer, but also courage to continue on the epic journey that prayer is.

The good that may come out of the loss does not erase its badness or excuse the wrong done. Nothing can do that.

It is how we respond to loss that matters. That response will largely determine the quality, the direction, and the impact of our lives.