The Day I Met Jesus

I am always on Facebook. Searching. Looking for old friends and new. Reconnecting with old high school friends. Sharing recipes, pictures of the children and grandchildren. One day I was doing my usual, reading the morning posts while having my coffee, making notes, sending birthday greetings, you know, all the stuff we love to do on Facebook. I was scrolling down my wall and out of the corner of my eye I saw this picture. The one on the left here...see it...how can you miss it. It was there, I was aware of it, but somehow I couldn't bring myself to really look. Ok. I scrolled on past it. I admit. It was so enticing. But no, my experiences with "religion" were somewhat, well...trying. By trying I mean, filled with rules that seemed to get in between me and my purpose for being at church. I mean, let's face it, I am sure you have been to church, belong to a church, or maybe just visited the church. They want you to give them money. They want you to come down to the front and confess your sins in front of God and everyone else. They want to preach to you about sin, hell and damnation. Just when you were getting into the music and feeling somewhat spiritual, your personal experience was interrupted and you lost that feeling inside, that feeling of an "ache", a "pull". Kind of like when you really fell in love the very first time. A burst of, oh...something in your heart.

So I scrolled on by and pretended to ignore it, finished my posting and other fun stuff on Facebook and chatted with some of my friends for a bit and logged off. The next morning, I got my first cup of coffee, sat down at the computer and logged in. I wrote my good morning post and started reading my notifications and answering them, you know, "like" "comment" "share".......scrolling down the page and there he was again!!!! Out of the corner of my eye I saw him, his eyes watching me, waiting...waiting for what? Well, this went on for several days. Then one morning I was into my morning  routine on Facebook and WOW, up popped this suggestion from someone I knew and was a friend that I "friend" him, specifically "Joshua Ben Joseph". I looked at the picture, I stared at the picture. Suddenly I was terrified. His eyes. The "Follow Me" at the top of the picture, like it was stamped on his forehead.

I squirmed in my seat, my palms started sweating and I just stared at him for the longest time. I thought, "What will I possibly say if he accepts my request?", "Am I good enough?", "Will he lecture me?" Oh, I was terrified. Simply terrified. And then the name. Joshua Ben Joseph? I took a very deep breath and sent him a friend request, thinking "Oh he won't accept my friend request", "He probably has so many followers he won't have time for me". But BAM, right away, there he was, saying "Good morning".......uh, now what...what should I say? I said "Good morning"....right away he started asking me questions, you know, who are you, where are you....and suddenly I thought, "What kind of a nut have I connected with here?" A perfect stranger on Facebook. All the warnings we have all heard went running through my mind. So I decided to take control of the conversation. I started asking questions, like who are you, where are you, what are you doing on Facebook, are you after women, I am married, I am a grandmother of twelve. On and on I went. He said nothing. I said I thought I had made a mistake and I am a very private person. He said "WAIT!!! Don't go...I am Roger, I am just like you. I was afraid too. When I saw the picture. Don't be afraid. I don't want anything. I just want to share with you, be friends with you".

The Day I Met Jesus. I have to tell you I did not know then what I know now. Oh, what a different person I am than I was that day. You will have to come back and read my blog every day now, because I am going to take you on a journey with me. A beautiful, wonderful, incredible journey. A very long journey, full of rich emotions and peaks and valleys. A journey you will enjoy. A journey you will love. A journey you will be yearning to read about each day as I describe what happens to me along the way.

This is only the beginning. And so we begin........