Home > Author > Cicely Tyson,
1 " ...even those who care deeply for us cannot always see our big picture, the Grand Story Line that is destined to unfold before us. They are on their own journeys. And though their paths may run parallel to ours, each is singular in its curves and mileposts, unique in its destination. As much as others want the best for us, they do not necessarily understand God's best. He alone does. "
― Cicely Tyson, , Just as I Am
2 " …this life doesn't simply come with its share of unpredictability; surprise it its most conspicuous feature. "
3 " But when the people who gave you life have departed this earth, you enter a strange new corridor of detachment. You are untethered, disconnected from the two story lines that gave birth to your one. "
4 " When a pivot is predestined on the stone tablet of your life story, there is often an inexplicable ease to it. It feels otherworldly, from an Almighty source beyond your frail humanity. "
5 " Even when we humans are busy shaking our heads no, shoving down our fears and shoving off our blessings, the Father has a way of propelling us forward, of moving us toward his way. "
6 " When you ask God for strength, as I do daily, he doesn't usually just drop it from the sky. He often answers by placing you in a circumstance that requires you to build fortitude while relying solely on him. "
7 " ...in our culture, provision speaks a love language that the tongue may seldom profess. "
8 " When you know your history, you know your value. You know the price that has been paid for you to be here. You recognize what those who came before you built and sacrificed for you to inhabit the space in which you dwell. "
9 " Social transformation is not measured in weeks or months, but in generation. "
10 " These US doctors are trained to cut you and write prescriptions. That is all. They don't know a thing about healing you. They treat symptoms, not causes. Like other professionals, they're working to buy their homes and send their kids to Harvard. That doesn't mean they don't care about your wellness, or that they're not good at diagnosing, and some of their treatments are excellent and should be followed. But before you let anyone go sticking a knife or needle in you, you've got to investigate. You've got to be sure you know what's happening with your body. You've got to advocate for yourself and your loved ones. "
11 " Rearing your children with affection and warmth is a form of activism. Honoring your word impeccably is a way to raise your voice. Performing your job with excellence - with your chin high and your standards higher - is as powerful as any protest march. Sowing into the lives of young people is a worthy crusade. That is what it means to leave this world of ours more lit up than we found it. It's also what it means to live a magnificent life, even if an unlikely one. The Father has a way of choosing the flawed to attempt what many deem improbable. "
12 " Over and over in our world, we have witnessed how today's riches can become tomorrow's scarcity. We'd do well to heed the lesson. In times of plenty, paucity sits by, licking its lips and awaiting its next grand appearance. "
13 " Around the business, I have sometimes been called difficult. The truth is that I insist upon respect. I don't take any tea for the fever, child. Even now, at age ninety-six, I teach folks not to mess with me. "
14 " We each have many faces, various ways of appearing and behaving. In one moment, we may show remarkable steadfastness, and in another, an aching vulnerability. We can be at turns tranquil and belligerent, jubilant and despairing. We are inherently multifaceted and yet marvelously complete. "
15 " Do you have any idea how many elders find themselves in her position? They suddenly lose their spouses, their faculties, or both. They're then often living with their grown children, even as they crave an autonomy that has slipped away. Praise God I still have my independence and my mind, but I do know how it feels to grow vulnerable. No matter the measure of fortitude you carry, a certain anxiety arises. You know you cannot control all you once could, so you hold fast to the little you can still govern. "
