I Am My Brother's Keeper is a collection of stories, each with its own theme but collectively expressing the hopefulness of transformation when the heart is changed. The journey of transformation often starts with what I call the divine treatment plan, a divine plan of transformation that creates a tapestry, a beautiful divinely handcrafted tapestry of our life.Often along the way, we are not able to see the beauty of the plan because it unfolds through many difficult circumstances, many of which at the time seem unmerited and overwhelming. Just like the back of a needlepoint tapestry is messy and often filled with knots and unsightly rough edges hardly recognizable as the beautiful picture emerging on the front, so is life under divine construction. We live through the process, looking at life from the back without full knowledge of the beauty on the other side.These stories are an example of the beauty that happens when we can see the hand of God in our life as He turns the tapestry over for all to see His handiwork. My hope is that these stories will create conversation about the purpose of difficulty in the journey of transformation and how this transformation creates a connection with each other. I believe it is this connection that creates a means by which God's presence is seen on earth. The journey changes us so we can become an accurate reflection of God's kindness, compassion, and love. The goal is love because God is love, but the vehicle of that love is our life. The vehicle of God's love is a life surrendered to the divine plan even if that surrender comes over time. I love the saying "progress not perfection" because it reveals my own journey of transformation--slow but steady and very fallible. God is the journey and the destination. The experiences we have are just a part of that process. May these stories cause you to recall the beauty of the creation of your divine tapestry.

--Patricia Patterson

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