Foretaste of heaven

I had lunch today with a friend – who’s been in living in California for the past two years. We’re birds of a feather in values and aspirations, and I have missed her good conversation.

Her husband is writing a book. One son is in the Marines. Another is joining the California Air Guard. The third wants to be a fire fighter.

I shared with her the anguish of an African-American friend here in Chicago, and she understood. She told me about her amusing attempts to establish a “prayer-partnership” with an African-American in her Seminary class.

I mention this outreaching because I believe our varied and rich cultures have their source in one God who knows no colors or races. And by stepping through cultural doorways with a listening heart, we can learn much.

Beyond the struggles and sometimes unrewarded efforts, my friend and I both rely on an underlying law of Love to resolve distress and clear the decks of whatever interferes with heart-to-heart communication.

I love how God is broadening my friendships; how S/He shows me the gold in the characters of those I meet to be closer to the surface than might have been expected. And more gold than I thought in those I already know.

S/He blesses me with honest and stimulating conversations and discussions – pretty much in proportion to my willingness to reach out.

And most delicious is having someone on the same wave-length with whom to exchange ideas and interpret experiences. A good friendship is indeed a foretaste of heaven.