Writing yesterday about a lovely photo of tomorrow’s snow. (August 16, 2012)
The photo on this page was taken by my Facebook friend and sister in serving Christ, Lorraine Jacobs from their home in New Zealand.  It is late winter for them there...and Tuesday for them already.  I write this at 8PM Monday, August 15, 2011; for Lorraine it is near noon on August 16.  Her today is my tomorrow….and my today is her yesterday.  Amazing!
From Lorraine I learned that calling folks in Australia and New Zealand as from “down under” is not always taken well--pretty much a sign of seeing the world from a single perspective.

I also learned that the people there near the Christchurch area are still suffering from the effects of the earthquakes last September and the continuing aftershocks.  This snow, while beautiful, wasn’t so welcome in those homes that are still damaged and leaky to the elements.
One of the most amazing gifts of being part of DisciplesNet is the ability to connect with--and learn from--people whose views come from around the world, in geography as well as in thought.

At DisciplesNet, we already are learning to think of time when something happened as God’s time--because we often Skype with people which can be during our night, their day, and another’s early morning.  We’ve learned, although sometimes we slip up, to not say, “Have a good day!” to someone during our morning but their bedtime, or “Good night!” to someone who has just finished their morning prayers.  This takes a little thought and effort, but knowing about the different time zones helps us to know that they are seeing in a different perspective that is neither good nor bad, just different and every bit as real as our own perspective.

Talking with someone on Skype or chatting live on facebook allows us to see that the world doesn’t look to everyone else just as it looks through the small knot-hole we are allowed to view through.   And It is sure helpful to have others share their views!
And the more views we take in, the more it just feels like God time.

I believe this is a good metaphor for seeing aspects of people and issues beyond labels.   They can be just different.   Seeing people from around the world--different skin tones and life concerns--is just like that.   All these things help me to know more and more that this is not “my world” but God’s world, and each person in it is a dear child of God.

Posted by