1 | For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. | |
2 | And I want beauty in my life itself, rather than in such chances as befall it. | |
3 | Thus the first shadow of death which fell on us left no darkness behind; it departed as softly as it came, only a shadow. | |
4 | From this, happiness in both the short term and the long term for both yourself and others will come. | |
5 | The fears my parents had had for me, and that I had had for myself, had both come to pass, and by every usual standard, I was the biggest failure I knew. |