Tending Roses

 Book by Lisa Wingate

This was a lovely book that touches on faith, family, forgiveness, work-life balance, and caring for aging loved ones. I liked that everyone was nuanced and imperfect, but generally doing the best they knew how. Some quotes:

“Raising children is an occupation of self-sacrifice, but these days young people don’t want to give anything up.”

“It takes time to turn a heart, and it cannot be done with hard words.”

“Sometimes we must try to view the actions of those around us with forgiveness. We must realize that they are going on the only road they can see. Sometimes we cannot raise our chins and see eye to eye, so we must bow our heads and have faith in one another.”

“My children grew up while I was doing other things, all of which seemed very important at the time.”

“Your children are the greatest gift God will give to you, and their souls the heaviest responsibility He will place in your hands. Take time with them, teach them to have faith in God. Be a person in whom they can have faith. When you are old, nothing else you’ve done will have mattered as much.”

“The secret to a happy life is not in getting what you want. It is in learning to want what you get. Don’t waste your time crying over what you’re not given. When you have tears in your eyes, you can’t see all the beautiful things around you.”