Recently I was explaining to a new friend that my father is an agnostic historian, who specialized in canon law, while my brother is a Catholic, canon lawyer-priest. I got a disconcerting reaction. “Well, you converted him, (meaning my dad, I presume) right?”

Gee, not yet.

I have a wide variety of people in my life—and some would rather not think about God. The words “God bless” at the end of a conversation seems to send shivers down their spines. Does that mean I should disown them? Or, better yet, get busy and convert them?

Conversion isn’t in my power.  Love is though. And love is amazingly effective at putting people in the right mood for a conversion experience. Though I live some distance from my dad, we manage to have weekly conversations that ramble through our lives and into our hearts.  My dad may say he doesn’t give God much of a chance of existing, but I do. And in his connection to me, he can’t help but be connected to God.  I’ve prayed, I’ve offered sacrifices, and I’ve come within millimeters of giving up, but I always remember that here, in this unexplored, un-faithful zone, lies the mercy of God.  He gets to decide what will happen with my dad on the long road.  My job is to love him while I have the chance.

There are so many people who have lost touch with God and thus lost the touch of God. Their hearts have hardened, and they believe that they do not need Him. They can be good without Him. They love and live as deeply as anyone. Someday, they may come to understand that it was God, inside them all along, that made their loves and lives possible. But until then, I can only hope, stay close, and keep on loving them. After all, it’s what God has been doing all along.

Books by A. K. Frailey

Historical Fiction & Science Fiction Blend Novels

OldEarth ARAM Encounter https://amzn.to/2KLhlsN

OldEarth Ishtar Encounter https://amzn.to/2OAkDQF

OldEarth Neb Encounter https://amzn.to/3iGqGlQ

OldEarth Georgios Encounter https://amzn.to/3v7w8oI

OldEarth Melchior Encounter (In Production)

Science Fiction Novels

Last of Her Kind http://amzn.to/2y1HJvg

Newearth: Justine Awakens http://amzn.to/2pq0vWN

Short Stories

It Might Have Been—And Other Short Stories https://amzn.to/2XXdDDz

Encounter Science Fiction Short Stories & Novella https://amzn.to/3dq6q5l

Inspirational Non-Fiction

My Road Goes Ever On—Spiritual Being, Human Journey https://amzn.to/2KvF3Ll

The Road Goes Ever On—A Christian Journey Through The Lord of the Rings https://amzn.to/3rtAy6S

Children’s Book

The Adventures of Tally-Ho http://amzn.to/2sLfcI5

Photo https://pixabay.com/illustrations/pentecost-holy-spirit-christianity-5061724/