I would like to share a sto­ry on my mother’s birthday. When I was a young, inse­cure and freck­led-face child, I would nego­ti­ate with God when my requests were big or seemed impos­si­ble.  For exam­ple, “If you give me X, I’ll give you Y in return”. One of my prof­fered deals in my night­ly litany was, “Make me beau­ti­ful like my moth­er and I promise to be virtuous.” As you...