I never set out to write a “religious” book, and fervently hope that it did not turn into one somewhere along the way. For that matter, I never intended to write a book at all. Its contents are the stories, love letters, family letters, vignettes, poems, and other works spanning 60 years of marriage, family, community, and adventures. Reviewing this collection, I find that there is a persistent thread of gratitude for the people I have loved, for the amazing world we live in, and what seem to me the miracles I have experienced. All of this, of course, implies a relationship with God, making this a journal of living in God’s Kingdom, most of the time taking no particular note of it. It is only in hindsight that I realize I have been steadily living out Jesus’ words to his disciples: When you pray, pray this way: Our Father, who is in Heaven, Holy is your name. Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. I claim no mystical voyages or visions of Heaven. My expectation of Heaven is informed by the everyday experience of living with the certainty of God’s grace and mercy and the power of love.
Significantly, it is NOT intended to be a handbook or theological argument on how to live the Christian life. It is certainly not exegetical, has no scriptural arguments to put forth (except perhaps for the Christmas sermons), and it (I hope) avoids proselytizing altogether. What I believe translates to what I have lived. It is the same for everyone.
