“He wondered where they came from, these gifts that shaped a man’s nature. From God? Was it like the descent of the Paraclete, and the tongues of fire that came to rest on the apostles? He remembered the picture in the Bible in his mother’s parlor, the apostles all crowned with fire, and looking fair daft with the shock of it, standing about like a crowd of beeswax candles, lit for a party. He smiled to himself at the memory, and closed his eyes. The candle shadows wavered red on his lids. Claire, his own Claire—who knew what had sent her to him, had thrust her into a life she had surely not been born to? And yet she had known what to do, what she was meant to be, despite that. Not everyone was so fortunate as to know their gift.” Excerpt From: Diana Gabaldon. “Voyager.” iBooks.
This excerpt from Voyager is during Jamie’s time at Ardsmuir, after he was flogged. The men tended his wounds as best they could. Remembering Claire, thinking of her, always comforted him. He also found comfort remembering a Pentecost picture from his childhood. These small moments, insignificant though they may seem, enabled Jamie to continue to live and breath and have hope.
