"My uncle was a priest who stole six hundred thousand dollars from the church coffers..."

Ah! The Wit and Wisdom of Jan Karon!


From her book, In This Mountain, pages 464 - 465.

Note: A man is talking on the phone to someone else. We only hear his side of the conversation. We can easily tell, however that the speaker has, so to speak, been there, and the other is herself (or himself) going through a personal crisis of faith!

Here we go:

"I understand.

"I had every reason, also.

"My uncle was a priest who stole six hundred thousand dollars from the church coffers -- with help of my father.

"I've found that if we keep our eyes on Christians, we can be disappointed in a major way.

"The important thing is to keep our eyes on Christ...

"I can't honestly say that I know what happy means.

"Let's say that I'm certain ...

"About who He is, what life is for, where I'm going, what it means to be given a second chance...

"Yes, you can pray it with me ... whatever seems right to you.

"Thank you, God, for loving me ... and for sending Your Son to die for my sins...

"I sincerely repent of my sins ... and receive Jesus Christ as my personal savior.

"Now, as your child, I turn my entire life over to you. Amen."