[Disclaimer: the phrase "God" is used throughout the following to indicate Divinity as a singular Being in an interfaith fashion - it is not intended to reflect the actual Being, or the usage or preferred terminology of any particular religion, actually being derived here from a very basic translation into English of the Kemetic concept of ntr, "Netjer."]

Em hotep!

I received a wonderful story via an interfaith mailing-list for a group I belong to on the Internet last week, and it spurred me to write a little article around it illustrating this week's point, which is our relationship with God. Here we go:

Eight-year-old Joey woke up one summer morning and decided he was going to go visit God. He went into the kitchen and packed a bag with a box of snack cakes and a six-pack of soda, put on his shoes and his jacket, and headed off toward the other side of the town in which he lived. He walked for quite some time; much further than he had ever gone with his parents, and eventually came across a large park. Joey realized it was quite past lunchtime and that he was rather hungry, so he decided to sit down and have a little rest and a bite to eat. There was a space on a nearby park bench, next to a little old woman who was feeding pigeons with a bag of bread crumbs, so Joey sat down next to her, pulled out a soda and a snack cake and proceeded to eat.

After a few minutes, Joey realized the little old lady was staring at him - and smiling. He looked at her and thought she had the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. He took another bite - and there was another smile. He took a drink - more smiling, and even a little giggle. Joey smiled back, reached into his bag, and handed the little old woman a soda. She opened it, smiled, and drank. They shared lunch until the bag was empty and the sun was beginning to go down - and not a single word was spoken.

Joey left the park and returned home. His mother was sitting in the kitchen, wondering where her son had been all day when usually he could be found inside playing, and so she asked him about his day. 

"I had lunch with God," Joey told his mother. "You know what? She has a really beautiful smile."

Meanwhile, the little old woman had returned to her own home, where her adult son was preparing dinner.

"What did you do today, Mother?" asked her son.

"I went to the park and had lunch with God," she replied. "You'd be surprised - He's a lot younger than you think."

For the Kemetic Orthodox, Netjer can take on many, many forms - we already have more than 3,000 established Names to illustrate this point - but not all of these forms are necessarily ones you'd expect. The story I've related above contains some basic truths about God and humanity, some we might not think about much but I hope to illustrate:

1. God is real.
Joey doesn't imagine he shares his lunch with a little old lady. The lady is real, in a tangible, physical sense. She is capable of interacting with him on all levels - even when speaking is not necessary. She is not a figment of the little boy's imagination or an aspect of his consciousness - she is another being, outside his personality *and* his realm of personal definition and control.

2. God wants a relationship with us, but it's a two-way process.
The old woman doesn't turn her back when Joey sits down next to her; and Joey doesn't ignore her when she begins to communicate. Their communication builds - but even in simplicity, something passes between them. It is a reciprocal relationship, of sharing and discovery.

3. God can be anywhere, in any form - but we have to be looking to see God.
If Joey hadn't seen the old woman smile, would he have offered his drink? If the old woman had been caught up in feeding the pigeons or whatever was troubling her that day, would she have taken the time to enjoy the presence of another?

There are probably any number of other conclusions you can draw about God from our story. The important points to remember are that God is accessible to us, if we ask and are open to the experience; and that it's not a one-way process (we are not God, God is not us, and neither of us can have a relationship where one partner does all the work). It is through our role as supplicants (the little boy who offers a drink, as we offer sacrifice before Netjer) that we can most easily approach God; and God is reflected in the giving (the old woman who saw divinity in a simple gift of sustenance, as God sees our good intentions in sharing what we have with God and then responds in kind). What is given is received, in a beautiful continuum of sharing.

Pay attention to the "chance occurrences" you have in a day. You probably meet up with God more often than you think. How about a lunch date?