Two years ago today we finished our family read-aloud of The Beatryce Prophecy. This book is so endearing. You will fall in love with Answelica and Jack Dory and Brother Edik and Beatryce.

Here are some favorite quotes…

“We shall all, in the end, be led to where we belong. We shall all in the end, find our way home.”

Oh, isn’t that beautiful? I also believe it is true.

“It is written in the Chronicles of Sorrowing that one day there will come a child who will unseat a king. The prophecy states that this child will be a girl. Because of this, the prophecy has long been ignored.”

That girl, she has a piece of my heart. That girl is good and kind and smart and determined and brave, and oh, I love her.

And then there is this, the last page of the book.

“All of this happened long ago. Or perhaps it has yet to happen. It could be that this book, the book of Beatryce, is the story of a world yet to come.

Who can say?

One thing is certain, though: what matters in the end is not prophecies. Ask Brother Edik if that is not so.

What does, then, change the world?

If the hardheaded goat Answelica could speak, she would answer with one word: ‘Love.’

And if you were to ask Beatryce of Abelard? She, too, would answer ‘Love.’

Love, and also stories.”

I couldn’t get through those last few lines without crying.

And then when I finished reading them, Annesley shouted, “Mom, that’s your line! That’s what you believe!”

Oh, yes it is, my sweet girl. Love and stories have changed my life in innumerable ways and I am oh, so grateful for them. Most of all, I am grateful I’ve been able to share so many stories with my family and that they have knit our hearts together in beautiful ways.