Judy, you express so clearly what so many of us feel. I was raised in a Southern Baptist environment which was intolerable so in college I ran away from church and from Jesus to the point I was embarrassed by the very name Jesus, until, as a result of Zen meditation focused only on my quest for Truth, a dramatic series of dreams introduced me to the loving, drumming, smiling Jeshua you know. My mind and heart opened as I got to know “the REAL guy”. I won’t elaborate because I’m sure you already know.
You and I share the same church as we walk through the trees or along the beach knowing we may be physically alone, but spiritually we never are. You walk with me and I with you, along with unnumbered others who know our friend by many other names and are not “Christian” in the “theology” of the church which does not show much if any appreciation for the guy who has revealed his true self to us and so many others who do not think of themselves as “Christian”.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for your courage to speak honestly and virtually poetically, in true love.
Jesus laughs at the thought of others that we might go to hell, and so do I. Let’s just beat our drums, dance, laugh, and love.
We are One.