As many of you know, I am a lover and collector of great quotes. Especially do I gravitate to those that reaffirm or restate Biblical truth in modern terms. I felt the quotes below were worthy of the Shepherd's Staff.

"God makes the broken whole. He takes the overlooked, the undervalued, the left out, the written off, the damaged and destroyed, and then He does what only He can do. God loves to make the broken beautiful." -- Kyle Idleman

Jeremiah 18:4-6- 4 But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make. 5 Then the word of the LORD came to me saying,  6 "Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?" declares the LORD. "Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel. 

"The most deeply taught Christians are generally those who have been brought into the searching fires of deep soul-anguish. If you have been praying to know more of Christ, do not be surprised if He takes you aside into a desert place, or leads you into a `furnace of pain.'" -- Anonymous

"Do not punish me, Lord, by taking my cross from me, but comfort me by submitting me to Thy will, and by making me to love the cross. Give me that by which Thou shalt be best served . . . and let me hold it for the greatest of all Thy mercies, that Thou shouldst glorify Thy name in me, according to Thy will." -- A Captive's Prayer